Reversal
by Achilles1011
Summary: Have you ever wondered what would happen if the positions of Fae and Human had been reversed? Well as it turns out when somethings change people become different, shaped by different circumstances. Yet some things remain the same including who we fall in love with. Can love overcome new circumstances? Or are the changes permanent? Doccubus end game some Valkubus to start.
1. Prologue: Sanctuary is Lost

One moment it had been quite, a routine patrol, the next she had been unconscious. There was pain in her head and a ringing in her ears. She could feel the hard dirt of the road on her back, there were muffled sounds, and she couldn't tell what they were. She opened her eyes and was greeted with a sight out of a movie, there was fire everywhere making the already unbearable desert heat hotter. She looked around what had once been the armoured car was on fire, she could see bodies littering the road.

Her thoughts finally merged, an explosion, the concussive forced had thrown her back and knocked her out. _Bo! _she needed to find Bo! Where is she? Her head turned frantically trying to find her brunette mate.

_Mate?! _She thought confused. _NOT NOW _her mind screamed. Her training took over. She began to assess the situation. Mass causality situation caused by an explosion, most likely an IED, not far from the base. It should have been heard. They would send help. Hopefully. She needed to find a radio. Tell them to send ambulances, medics.

Bo! again her thoughts betrayed her. Why was she thinking about her! She stood looking at the situation and repressing the urge to vomit. Blood was everywhere. Body parts, separated from their owners in the explosion, burned and half burned bodies of her comrades. Then she heard a scream. Someone was alive.

She stood. She was dizzy, wobbly. _Concussion _her mind supplied. She took one step on the dirt road and nearly vomited again; the pain in her leg was excruciating. She continued on one step at a time. She reached the man. She kneeled at his side, shifting her weight to her good leg. He was covered in blood, large pieces of shrapnel embedded in his chest. She sighed he wouldn't survive, black tag.

The ringing was decreasing. She could her more noise now. She heard a grunt. _BO! _She needed to go help her mate. _STOP_! She begged her mind. She looked in the direction the sound had come from.

There was a soldier. A woman from the look of her small frame. Her fatigues were torn to shreds. She had blood running down her arms and was blood soaked into what was left of her fatigues. Shrapnel embedded everywhere. Body armour dented. How was she walking! She noticed that the woman was carrying someone over her shoulders. He didn't appear to have all of his limbs. There was blood streaming from a stump. She assumed it was a leg. She looked around for material for a tourniquet. She ripped her sleeve.

She caught sight of brown hair. She ran forward ignoring the pain in her leg. It was Bo who was carrying the man. Something didn't look right. As she got closer she noticed something. Bo's eyes were tinted blue. Something wasn't right.

_Protect_ something inside her screamed. She ignored it. She took the man from Bo and lay him down on the dirt road. She assessed the bleeding stump. He had lost his leg at the thigh. The femoral artery. It would cause him to bleed out. She tied the fabric from her sleeve around the bleeding stump as tightly as it would go. She applied pressure with her hands. They quickly became covered in ignored it. The bleeding started to slow. She sighed relieved. She looked up at Bo.

Bo was slumped forward passed out, blood gushing from obviously severed arteries. She panicked. Her training took over again. She finally remembered her radio. She called base. She passed out from her injuries.


	2. Chapter I: After the Fall

**A/N: I cannot believe that I have over 300 views on this story, thank-you for taking the so much for taking the time to read the prologue. A special thank-you to the Anons as well as users who left reviews, as well as the favourites and follows. This chapter will confirm who was in Afghanistan, although a few of you guessed correctly. This chapter and the next several will contain Valkubus. I hope you enjoy it and please know that any spelling and grammar errors are mine. **

A brunette smiled politely at the man in front of her. She had been tending to the bar when he walked up and sat himself down and just started to talk. He had been talking and flirting with her for the past half an hour and she was beginning to get a bad vibe from him. Who was she kidding she had a bad vibe from him the moment he walked up to her.

He held up two fingers. She sighed and brought the clear glasses down as well as the tequila for the drinks, quickly poring a healthy dose into both of the glasses she slide them to him. He looked up and said "Thank-you pretty lady" in a heavy Midwestern accent, although he did not make eye contact with her, instead staring at her breasts. The brunette shuddered a little internally, not liking the way he was looking at her chest.

Bo looked away for a few seconds when she noticed a new patron arrive in the bar. At first when she saw blonde hair she had been hoping for her girlfriend but then she noticed the blond hair was down and belonged to a much shorter person wearing black leather pants, a back top, leather jacket, and fishnet globes entered the bar instead. That was definitely not Tamsin, although the little goth certainly did dress to impress. Bo shook her head and returned to the man in front of her. He was wearing a goofy smile on his face like he'd just accomplished something.

"For the pretty lady" he offered Bo the drink. Bo eyed it suspiciously before flashing a smile at him "Sorry, its against policy for the bartender to drink on the job." That may have been a lie but she not about to trust a man who order two drinks kept one for a period of time and then offered it to her.

The well-dressed man sighed and then smiled again, it screamed fake. The man asked for his tab and began to leave when he noticed a very pretty blonde. He grabbed the drink he had dropped a pill in earlier and walked up to her. "A pretty drink for a pretty lady." He said while offering it up to her.

The blonde looked up at him and smiled "Thank-you" she said. And when the man leaned over to set the drink on the table she slipped a deft hand into his pocket where her hand came in contact with a wallet. _Score _she though while carefully withdrawing the wallet from the man's pocket and bringing her hand under the table to hide the stolen wallet. The man was well dressed and likely carrying around quite a bit of cash as well as credit cards, this should keep her feed for another week.

She looked down at the drink, it was releasing a rather pungent odder but at this moment the blonde could not bring herself to care. She reached for the clear glass and swallowed its contents in one gulp. She then stood up, stumbling slightly on the heels of her boots. Leaving the bar she noticed that the world was beginning to spin, it was getting harder and harder for her to keep her balance. She stumbled towards the elevator, hoping to get away from the hotel before whatever she began to feel got any worse.

As she entered the elevator she noticed another person enter behind her. The doors to the elevator closed and the man reached out and pressed the button for the second level of the parking garage. It was the man who had given her the drink, suddenly in the blonde's mind everything clicked. "What did you put in my drink?!" was growled out in rage. The blonde was attempting to repress her natural reaction, don't want to scare the human now.

The man replied in a heavy drawl "Just somethin' to make yah more receptive to a bit o' fun." The light almost amusing tone from earlier was gone, replaced with something that felt more sinister. The blonde was thankful that she was not as weak as she appeared but whatever she had been slipped was powerful; it was getting harder to stand, harder to keep her eyes open. She slide down the side of the elevator. _Fuck _she cursed herself for even taking a sip of the obviously tainted drink. Suddenly the elevator stopped and the bartender from earlier got on.

"Hope you don't mind" the brunette said in a heavy whisper to the Midwestern man. The bartender noticed the blonde on the floor, obviously struggling to remain conscious. She cursed in her head, she had nearly been to late. The man, who was clearly oblivious to the thoughts running through her head finally asked "What's the name of you prett' lady?"

The brunette shook her head debating what to do, on the one hand she could knock him out and call the police, on the other she could call it in like she was supposed to. Looking over at the blonde she realized that the decision was made for her, she couldn't let there be any more victims.

The brunette leaned over and whispered into his ear "My name's Bo". She ran her hand down the front of his shirt; cringing internally she hated doing this. "What's yours?" was husked into the man's ear. He grabbed her by the waist, breath Bo, breath she though to herself, she was starting to get uncomfortable, but this was not the first time she'd had to do this and doubt's it will be the last.

"My name's Tim" was husked into her own ear. That should be enough. She grabbed him by the shoulders and proceeded to knee him in the testicles. Pulling back she saw a look of pain come over his face, as he growled, "Shouldn't done that little missy." Bo just rammed his head into the back of the elevator car causing Tim to pass out.

Bo then noticed that the elevator made a ding sound as the door opened onto a grey concrete parking garage. She quickly opened her phone and proceeded to press one on speed dial. "It got him" Bo quickly said into the phone as it was picked up, cutting of any potential questioning. Before anything else could be said she hung up. Bo was stepping out of the elevator and onto the concrete when she heard a soft, weak voice ask "What about me?"

Bo sighed knowing that the police would be there soon, but she had forgotten to tell them about the blonde haired young woman. That left her with only one course of action. "I guess you come with me." She told the young woman before asking "Can you walk?"

The only response she got was some vaguely mumbled nonsense about foxes and cheese. Bo sighed, knowing what she risked she kneeled down and proceeded to lift the little blonde over her shoulders, arms and head over one, feet over the other grab hold of both and lift. A procedure so familiar to her and yet she hadn't done it in nearly two years, not since that day. Bo stopped that train of though and focused on getting the small blonde away from the situation.

Bo could feel the beginnings of anxiety creeping in, could feel her face starting to heat. _Breath Bo_, was her mantra and she focused on where she was. She was in a parking garage in the dead of winter. Like Bo had been taught she focused on her surroundings. It was all grey and white around her. The near white of the artificial lights, the coldness in contrast to the heat of the desert, the blue's and blacks of the other cars. She breathed a little easier and focused on the blonde and getting the blonde to her car.

Within a minute she found the silver Carola where she had left it earlier in the evening. Gingerly she shifted the little goth's weight in order to free one of her hands to open the backdoor. She proceeded to lower her into a sitting position and run the seat belt across her torso and into the connector. Closing the door gingerly Bo proceeded around the car to the driver's side door. She slid into the driver's seat and fastened her seat belt. Maneuvering the car out of its parking space she began the drive back to the apartment she shared with her girlfriend.

Arriving outside of the glass and steel building that housed her apartment she proceeded to drive into the parking garage. Knowing that she was unlikely to run into anyone at this hour she carried the blonde young woman much as she had before. Getting into the elevator, while cumbersome was not the end of the world. However when the door closed and she realized what position she was in it started to remind her to much of the desert, her comrade's bodies strewed around, one guy, still alive screaming in pain from his lost leg. She could save him.

Lost in the flashback Bo didn't notice the elevator had arrived at her floor. When the doors opened an anxious blonde already dressed in pajamas went to greet her. When she noticed that Bo was carrying another person she started to say "Babe…" but was cut off when she saw the look in Bo's eye. It was glazed over and far away, her breathing was calm though, that was most likely the therapy working. She was trying to work through the flashback, but Tamsin decided to help, doing something she hadn't had to do for a while.

"Bo focus on my voice… your in our apartment building with me, come on Bo, you know where you are…" The blonde started talking as she had dozens of times before, knowing her voice would help bring the brunette back. The blonde knew better then to try and reach over and touch Bo however, as much as she wanted to, it would only cause her to get hurt and for the brunette to start to feel guilty, which would spiral and she did not want to go down that road again.

Bo could hear someone talking to her she looked around for the source of the noise and saw a blonde in front of her. A brief flash, she though she saw a different Blonde, a shorter thinner one with darker colour but no it was her girlfriend, Tamsin. This brought Bo back, Tamsin had not been in Afghanistan with her as the other blonde had. Bo blinked the flashback beginning to loosen its grip on her mind. She saw wooden paneling and numbered buttons of white plastic, an open door greeting her to a calm looking but obviously agitated girlfriend. She was not in Afghanistan she was in her apartment building's elevator. Bo looked up at Tamsin with much clearer eyes "Thank-you" she said. Tamsin shook her head and smiled with relief, they had been through that routine many times before, and it hadn't always end this well.

A groan was heard from Bo's shoulder reminding both the woman that there was an additional person with them. Bo quickly stepped out of the elevator into the dimly lit hallway that lead to her apartment. Seeing the large wooden door propped open she rushed in and gently deposited the tiny blonde on the couch.

Tamsin shook her head, Bo and her need to save others. She would talk to Bo about it in the morning, for now they had a houseguest to tuck in and get themselves to bed. Tamsin also groaned internally, if Bo had had a flashback today then it would more then likely mean that she would be having nightmares tonight. It would most likely be a long night, although with any luck her medication would help and she wouldn't have any. _Who am I kidding?_ She though, she knew from experience that Bo's medication reduced the nightmares, but often didn't eliminate them. She glanced over at Bo a fondness returning to her eyes at the sight of her girlfriend fussing over the smaller blonde.

"Babe do you know who she is?" Tamsin asked. She knew the little blonde… no wait she had black hair. The blonde hair had been a wig. When Bo laid her down on the couch it must have gone askew from the pillows.

"The wallets I've found on her aren't her's. I think I saved a pickpocket." Bo sighed frustrated. It would have been so much easier to put her in a cab and send her home, but they were stuck with the raven hair woman until morning. "We'll have to ask her when she wakes up." A pause and a look on Bo's face that said she just remembered something rather important. "I think she was roofied, but I don't know with what drugs specifically."

Tamsin growled, she did not like the fact Bo had agreed to go under cover to catch the rapist to begin with, but thinking about the young woman lying on her couch made her picture Bo and how she could have been in that situation.

"Can you go get her a blanket, while I take off her shoes?" No response. "Tamsin!" Tamsin fixed her gaze on her girlfriend.

"What did you say babe?"

Bo sighed, obviously annoyed. "I asked if you could get her a blanket and maybe a bucket." Tamsin nodded silently and internally rolled her eyes at Bo's attitude. Always needs to save and protect others. And then a fond smile crossed her face that was Bo though, always trying to save others.

Tamsin wandered out of the living room and into the sparsely decorated hallway. They had only recently moved into this particular apartment and hadn't had a chance to finish unpacking yet. Tamsin opened the white closet door and started to ruffle around the shelves for the spare blanket.

Eventually she found it behind the detergent. She made a mental note that they needed to clean out that closet and closed the door bringing it back to the living room.

She stopped for a moment and took in the sight of Bo. She was flitting about trying to see if there was anything else she could do in order to make the stranger more comfortable. Tamsin shook her head and walked up to Bo. She stopped a few feet from her and cleared her throat.

Bo turned around when she heard the noise. It was a little startling but she saw Tamsin staring back at her with a look of fondness in her eyes. Tamsin held up the blanket for Bo. "Here" she murmured. Bo took the blanket and shot her a look of thanks. Bo carefully draped the blanket over the lithe goth and turned back to Tamsin who was standing there with her arms crossed over her chest.

"I'm sorry. I know you're mad but can we talk about it in the morning? It's been a really long day." Bo looked Tamsin in the eye. She could see Tamsin rolling her eyes and then opening her arms for a hug. Bo immediately moved into her girlfriend's arms.

"I'm mad, but right now I'm more worried about the flashback you had. Are you all right from that? I know they tire you out." Tamsin murmured into Bo's hair. Bo nodded her head against Tamsin's collarbone and moved back slightly in her arms and quickly pressed a kiss to her lips.

"I'm going to go take a shower and get ready for bed. What time do you have to go in tomorrow?" Bo said as she disentangled herself from Tamsin's embrace. She heard Tamsin sigh and say "Around 8:00, but depending on how we both sleep I may have Dyson cover my shift."

Bo was about to protest. That Tamsin shouldn't have to miss work because she may not sleep well. That it hadn't happened in months but before she could protest out loud a finger was put to her lips, silencing her. "I know it hasn't happened in a while but you know I refuse to leave you alone to your nightmares. I never have and I won't start now." Tamsin murmured in a voice that betrayed her emotions, she was tired but not giving up on Bo.

Bo shook her head. She knew that Tamsin didn't know the extent of the nightmares she'd had some nights because she often moved to the couch so Tamsin could actually sleep but she appreciated the thought. With the rave haired woman she had rescued though, that would not be an option on this particular night.

"Okay" Bo murmured.

Tamsin pecked her on the forehead and whispered in her ear "I'm going to go get that bucket that you asked for and then we should get some sleep okay?" Bo nodded. She wandered into their bedroom stopping briefly to grab some pajama pants and a long-sleeved shirt.

She flipped the light switch in the master bath on with a flick of her wrist. A calming blue colour greeted her. She smiled slightly as she stripped, she and Tamsin had argued over the colour of the bathroom. Tamsin wanting it to be a deep red Bo and insisting that she would never set foot in a bathroom the colour of blood. Bo had actually wanted the bath to be coloured a cheerful green or perhaps white. They had eventually compromised on blue, for Tamsin it showed her somewhat odd fascination with death and for Bo it had been a colour she always associated with calm.

Bo shook her head and laughed as she entered the glass-enclosed shower and quickly stepped under the spray. She winced when one of her arms crossed her line of sight as she reached for the shampoo. It was littered in small and large pink lines, evidence of her shrapnel wounds. She quickly grabbed the shampoo and lathered her hair, staring straight ahead of at the wall, focusing on the colour blue, not wanting a repeat of the shower incident from shortly after she had gotten home.

Robotically she finished her shower routine and got out. She quickly dried herself with one of the towels on the rack, careful to only catch brief glances of her limbs. Bo knew theoretically that her arms and legs were riddled with scars, but she didn't remember the IED, didn't remember saving the life of a Chief Warrant Officer. Her first memory after the start of a routine patrol was waking up in a hospital bed back in Canada in excruciating pain with Tamsin holding her less heavily bandaged hand. Bo shook her head, blocking the memories. Focus on the bathroom. The blue of the room, the glass fogged with steam...Bo shook her head she didn't want another flashback today.

She dressed quickly, brushing her teeth and running a comb through her wet hair. Before she left the bathroom she opened the medicine cabinet and took out her medications. Putting the pills in her mouth she quickly swallowed them with practiced ease. She dumped the cloths she had left on the ground in the nearby laundry basket. Turning off the light she quickly left the bathroom. Crossing the bedroom she crawled into her side of the queen sized bed she shared with Tamsin. With a quick exchange of goodnights Bo curled up and fell into an uneasy sleep.


	3. Chapter II: Catch 666

**A/N: WOW! That is all I can say to the number of views I have gotten. Thank-you so much to those who followed and favourited the story. A special thank-you to those who left reviews, you all said such kind things, honestly I don't think I deserve it. Don't get used to the frequent updates. I will most likely be moving to a weekly schedule soon, probably Friday nights. As usual all spelling and grammar errors are mine. And to the Anon who left the question, as the title and summary suggest the positions of Fae and Human have been reversed, those who were Fae are now human (or in one case 99.5%) and the reverse is true those who were human are now Fae. Their species are mentioned in this chapter. **

Kenzie was startled awake by a piercing scream. Hotpants must be having a nightmare again. She grumbled she had been having a nice dream about money, swimming in it much like Scrooge McDuck used to do in the old cartoons. She blinked looking around. She was in a room with a roof; she could see a TV mounted on the wall across from her, a few things in frames. She realized she was in a living room, Dr. Hotpants must have found her somewhere and brought her home again. They needed to have the "I can take care of myself, would you please stop worrying about me" conversation again. She shifted a little and realized that she had a blanket draped over her. Stupid Hotpants.

As she finished sitting up she was hit with a wave of dizziness. Kenzie felt like she was going to throw-up. She reached for the bucket Hotpants must have put there for her and vomited. She felt better afterwards everything was still spinning but she wasn't going to be sick again. "How much of the good stuff did I have last night?" she wondered aloud. However when she looked outside, she noticed streetlights, no signs of the sun. It was the middle of the night. Then she froze. Memories began to assault her brain. The Texan dude, the drink, the wallet.

The pungent smell from the drink. She whacked her palm against her head. How could she have been so stupid! "Way to be likes a human, Kenz. You could smell the drugs and yet you drank it anyways. Great job Marilyn Monroe." She grumbled to herself. Then she remembered the elevator. The brunette bartender had gotten into the elevator with her and that guy…Kenzie couldn't remember anything that happened after that.

She looked around again. Realizing that she didn't recognize any of the furniture she groaned… had the human brought her here? Well he made a huge mistake messing with this Kitsune! Her train of thought was interrupted when she heard an unmistakably feminine moan. It sounded like someone was in distress. The brunette who had gotten into the elevator with her. She didn't know why but she felt a strong pull to protect her. This so went against what she normally did, Kenzie liked to run, not fight. But she could feel this urge to protect; she should mention it to Hotpants next time she sees her, find out if it's a Kitsune thing. Kenzie looked around and noticed an unplugged desk lamp on a wooden side table nearby; she didn't want to startle the brunette by using her powers on the creepy dude. Although once the brunette was safe… she wouldn't promise anything.

She stood up grabbing the small metal lamp on her way to the closed door, she assumed it was a bedroom. Just as she was about to burst in she heard something. It was the voice of another woman. "Bo… wake-up. Come one babe." It was soothing but there was sternness to it. With deft hands she opened the door enough for her to peak in, crouching down to avoid being seen. She expected to see the creeper pinning down a woman with another begging in the corner for this Bo person.

What she was greeted with was the opposite. A woman with loose blonde curls cascading down her back, dressed in only a tank top and pyjama pants, was kneeling at the side of the bed talking to a moving and moaning figure.

Kenzie quickly labeled her Blondie mentally. Realizing that more then likely she wouldn't be seen she stood up slightly and opened the door a little more. She also tightened the grip on her lamp ready to attack at a moments notice. She heard the person in the bed scream again. That was when Kezie realized that there was no danger, the woman in the bed was having a nightmare and Blondie, who must be her partner, was trying to wake her up. Kenzie wanted to get up and leave, go back to the couch, and sleep off the last of the drug. Thank the brunette, who had saved her from the creepy dude, when she woke up in the morning, thank the couple for their hospitality and leave, attempting to forget this every happened. However something was rooting her in place, as if she needed to be here, to bear witness to this moment.

"Come on baby. Please wake up. Bo… listen to my voice." There was desperation in Blondie's tone now. Was this not normal? She seemed to know what she was doing, suggesting that the brunette's nightmares were a regular occurrence. And the brunette's name itself, Bo, sounded familiar but in this moment Kenzie couldn't place it.

Suddenly Bo jerked up, gasping for breath. Her forehead was shiny… oh shiny! Kenzie quashed the urge to go over and pet it. Stupid Kitsune nature… or was it her own nature? Stupid shiny things! Kenzie shook her head, returning to scene in front of her. She noticed that the front of Bo's shirt was drenched in sweat and there were tears running down Bo's cheeks. Then Kenzie caught a look in Bo's eyes, they were glazed over as if she wasn't really registering where she was. Kenzie had seen this look before, on Lauren's face after she woke from a nightmare about Afghanistan. Blondie started to talk again "Bo… focus on my voice. You're in our apartment. You are safe." She repeated this over and over for what seemed like forever. Kenzie watched transfixed as Bo came back to herself.

Tamsin looked her in the eye. Bo nodded and was enveloped in a hug by Tamsin, who cradled Bo to her chest and murmured something into her hair that Kenzie could not hear. She quietly closed the door, sneaking back to the couch she had previously been sleeping on. She sat down on the beige coloured cushions and put the lamp down on the floor. Her mind was whirling into overdrive. _Bo, where have I heard that name before?_ She thought to herself. Then she remembered. Hotpant's Bo… it couldn't be. Lauren had said the wounds that she had were so extensive and she had lost so much blood… Lauren had thought Bo had died. She had been so depressed…an Artemis who lost their destined mate was never fun.

Kenzie was suddenly overcome with a wave of dizziness; maybe the drugs hadn't worn off as much as she thought. She lay down suddenly overcome with tiredness. Just as she starting falling asleep she thought she had felt herself shift, that would not have been fun to explain in the morning. _Oh well _Kenzie thought _I'll just explain to them. If Bo's who I think she is, she will meet the Fae sooner or later, better me and Hotpants then by her death. _Kenzie shifted slightly, feeling her eyelids start to droop, without a first she surrendered to sleep.

Bo groaned shifting slightly, only to have an arm tighten its grip around her waist and feel another running fingers through her hair. A soft voice whispered into her ear "Go back to sleep babe."

Bo blinked open sleepy eyes only to have the hand on her head shift her closer to a chest. "Shhhh" was whispered into her ear again. Her eyes fluttered shut again. She groaned, and shifted again. "Baby, go back to sleep… it was a long night for both of us." A soft voice kept whispering for her to go back to sleep. Bo finally croaked out "What time is it?" her voice was hoarse… she must have been screaming again. She didn't remember much of last night, only the nightmares had been more vivid than usual. Yet they still had the same quality they always did, of fuzziness and a disassociation, also a feeling of blankness as if she were missing a portion of the story. Bo sighed internally.

"Just after 9:00, but you didn't settle well until around 6:00, so sleep babe. Please." Was whispered softly into her ear. Bo could hear the roughness in Tamsin's voice, meaning she had stayed up talking to her for half of the night again. There was also a plea there to remain in bed, get some sleep. Then the words Tamsin had spoken registered in a sleepy mind. Bo's eyes shot open startled.

Tamsin was up backing away in an instant "Bo…" Tamsin was about to start again. Bo cut her off "I'm fine." She was angry. Tamsin should be at work, not staying home taking care of her again.

Bo groaned in pain as she sat up she was stiff from the lifting she had done last night. "Shouldn't you be at work?" Bo asked trying to keep the anger out of her tone. She would need to call her psychiatrist and book an appointment, if Tamsin was staying home today it meant that the nightmares had been bad last night. She probably needed medication adjustments again. She also needed to talk to him, find out if there were any ways for her to cope with the nightmares as she had learned to do with the flashbacks.

"No" Tamsin was adamant. Bo sighed Tamsin had been like this before and they had clashed because of it. "Tamsin…"

Tamsin cut Bo off "I already called into work today and explained to Dyson what happened last night, you know that we are both used to this. He said he would cover my shift, no questions asked." There was anger and desperation in her tone. Bo looked into Tamsin's eyes she looked exhausted.

"I'm sorry." Bo said finally giving in. When Tamsin looked like this she already felt guilty. Bo looked at Tamsin again. She was already getting back into the bed and lying down. Bo saw Tamsin reach for her and gave in quietly, figuring a little more sleep would be good, especially for Tamsin. So she let herself be pulled down into Tamsin's arms and cuddled against her chest. She never understood why Tamsin liked this position but she went along with it anyway because Bo knew that after the night they'd had Tamsin would not sleep any other way. She felt fingers starting to run through her hair and words being whispered in her ears "Go back to sleep baby."

Bo closed her eyes, but she did not fall asleep. Eventually however she did feel the fingers running through her hair stop and she could feel Tamsin's breathing even out. Unfortunately Tamsin's hand was essentially locking Bo's head in place, so she cuddled closer to Tamsin and simply decided to enjoy the warmth.

Bo blinked her eyes open she must have fallen asleep. She felt hands running through her hair again. She would never truly understand Tamsin's desire to stay in bed with her even when she was asleep. Bo shifted around in bed, pulling back from Tamsin's loose embrace enough to look into her eyes. "Morning." Was whispered by Bo. Tamsin leaned down and pecked her lips.

"Good morning." Tamsin replied. Bo sat up, groaning in pain. It would be a long unpleasant day. "We need to talk about last night Bo." It was a statement, not a question. Bo sighed internally.

"I know babe but can we please do it after breakfast and we see off our house guest?" Bo asked knowing that the "discussion" would likely turn into a fight. The houseguest on the couch did not need to hear that, especially if she was still recovering from the drugs. Bo looked at Tamsin's face, it looked contemplative, almost as if she would say no. Seconds later however Tamsin sighed and said "Fine, but we are going to talk succubabe" as she got up out of the bed and walked into the bathroom.

Bo blanched; Tamsin hadn't used that nickname in a longtime. It meant she was mad, even with the pet name attached. Tamsin hadn't used it since...Bo actually couldn't remember the last time she had used it. Bo shook her head. She was in for sarcastic Tamsin this morning. Tamsin had never been good around new people and most of the time insulting them was her coping mechanism.

Bo got up out of the bed. She walked to their white bedroom door and pulled it open. She walked down the hall and into the living area. Bo cast a glance over at the couch as she walked by on her way to the kitchen. She expect to see the raven hair goth, but instead she saw a tiny lump. Bo stared dumfounded for a second before she let out a scream, well it actually sounded like a strangled yelp, but that's a different matter all together.

This had Tamsin running out of the bedroom in seconds. She was already yelling "Bo!" as if she expected her to be caught in a flashback again. Bo saw Tamsin stop in front of her "What's wrong…." Bo cut Tamsin off by looking her directly in the eye. She then pointed to their couch where a little lump lay curled under a blanket sleeping.

"How did that thing get in?" Tamsin wondered aloud. Bo took a few steps closer to the couch and then noticed something. The little creature was sleeping in the neck of a shirt, the one the raven hair woman she had rescued had been wearing last night. Did the creature eat her? Bo shook her head at the shear idea of the though. The creature was the size of both her hands put together, no way it could eat a fully-grown person. The woman was also unlikely to have walked out of here topless.

Bo looked around briefly; there were no signs of blood on the hardwood. She briefly shifted the blanket at the foot of the couch, there were no signs of blood, although there was the fabric of the pants the young woman had been wearing the night before. Bo looked around trying to find any signs of where the girl went. Shifting around she began to notice a rather pungent smell in the air. One she recognized: vomit. "Tamsin I'm going to go clean out our bucket, can you see if our houseguest has started to wander around the apartment? Remember she was most likely drugged last night so she may be in a haze, please try and be gentle"

Bo could hear Tamsin grumble, clearly not happy with the idea. Bo simply sighed and went to pick up the bucket, holding it arms length from her and holding her breath she quickly went into the kitchen. It was sparsely decorated, with a grey backsplash and brown cabinets, but it was homey. Bo quickly set the bucket down in the stainless steel sink and turned the water on. Allowing the dried contents to the bucket to become liquid again. She quickly took the bucket out from under the tap, shutting it off in the process, and made a beeline to the bathroom to dispose of the bucket's contents.

While she was disposing of the contents in the toilet she heard the door to the apartment open and then shut. Tamsin was most likely going to take a look around their floor, it was kind of hard to loose a naked young adult, and Bo seriously doubted she would wander into the street without her clothes. But then again she had left the apartment naked; she was most likely still getting over the side effects from being drugged. Bo had to chuckle at the absurdity of the situation. She flushed the toilet and left the bathroom with the bucket intent on returning it to the kitchen to soak it. As she was passing the living room she saw something that made her stop.

As she walked in she noticed the little creature, _shifting_, if the elongation of the limbs, the screeching in pain, and the changing bone structure could be called that. Bo lost her grip on the bucket it dropped onto the floor with a loud sound, it didn't register in her ears. Bo wanted to scream, to run, to do something, but she stood there rooted to the spot, in fear, awe, or something else she didn't know. Suddenly she gasped, the creature was starting to look more and more human… it couldn't be…or could it?

Her suspicion her confirmed seconds later when the nauseating transformation was finished and before her stood the young woman she had saved last night as naked as the day she was born. Bo felt herself flush in embarrassment; she turned around and looked away all while clearing her throat.

Bo heard a gasp followed by the young woman saying "You saw me didn't you." It was a statement not a question and yet there appeared to be a note of relief in the young woman's voice. Bo was finding the whole situation so surreal that what was happening didn't completely register. An awkward silence settled over the room followed by a question.

"Where're my cloths?" The young woman sounded like she was asking for her most precious babies. "Couch" was the response Bo managed to choke out. She nearly started laughing, the situation was so absurd. Then a memory came unbidden of a similar talk, under different circumstances, Bo stopped giggling, the memory was from a time in her life when she hated herself, sleeping around to try and feel something during sex. Lost in though Bo didn't hear the first of the rustling sound, signaling that the young woman was beginning to get dressed.

"You can turn around BoBo I have a fine body and I don't mind if yah look." The words registered in her mind, snapping her out of the memories. There was a hint of mischief in the young woman's voice causing Bo to groan in her head. She had no desire to see the young woman naked, especially after seeing her, Bo shuddered, _transform_.

"Please just tell me when you're done getting dressed." Bo said trying to hide the embarrassment in her voice. Then the use of the nickname registered causing Bo to turn around and stare at Kenzie, an incredulous look on her face "BoBo? How did you find out my name?"

"The Kenzie gives everyone nicknames, your not that special. And I found out your name when you woke me by screaming your butt off in the middle of the night. I went to see if someone needed savin" Kenzie said gesturing to the lamp at the foot of the couch "and instead found you having a nightmare and the woman, who I assume is your girl, trying to wake you up."

Bo sighed internally. She hated when people found out about her nightmares, and yet, when she looked at the young woman she did not see pity her eyes as she so often did. Bo was shocked to instead see genuine concern and a look in her eyes that seemed almost as if the young woman in front of her knew her somehow. The mention of Tamsin also brought her back to the reality, or perhaps irrationality of the situation. She had been momentarily distracted by the banter, the young woman was good. Bo felt a sudden need to sit down and an urge to find Tamsin. After a second she looked at the young woman in front of her and finally asked, "What's your name?" then Bo decided to add "We wanted to try and send you home in a cab but none of the wallets you had on you were yours so you got stuck on our couch for the night instead. Actually your lucky that Tamsin's a homicide detective and not a uniform police officer or else she would probably have hauled your pickpocketing ass to the station"

"Kenzie's the name. And I prefer the term borrowing from the more fortunate to give to the less, namely me." Bo groaned again. She had rescued a thief, could her day get any better? Then she remembered the shape shifting. Bo groaned again and slumped further into the chair before remembering what her psychiatrist told her about distraction.

She stood from the armchair and told Kenzie "I'm going to go cook breakfast. Is there anything you want?" She could see Kenzie shake her head and was told "Whatever you're making I'll be eating, just make a lot of it."

Bo nodded stiffly and went over to the kitchen in order to begin making the food. She quickly decided on eggs and toast, one of the few things she could actually make. She also heard what sounded like Kenzie grab a set at the breakfast island and begin to chatter about inane things.

As she cooked Bo learned that Kenzie was from Russia originally, she was not sure how old she actually was, and that she had a fondness for the children's show Jungle Jeeves. Bo laughed at the last one, it was so human and yet the young woman in front of her was more then likely not. Bo wanted to ask the question, which had been plaguing her mind since she saw her shift, but she held off for a little while, figuring this talk would be better had on a full stomach.

As Bo shifted the ready toast and eggs onto plates, setting one aside in the microwave for Tamsin she realized that she had come a long way. There would have been a time where the heat from cooking would have triggered her; she was actually a little surprised that she had not been triggered by it this morning. Bo realized that Kenzie had been chattering the entire time she had been cooking. It couldn't have been… distraction?

Bo shook her head and called over to Kenzie "Come get a plate Kenz." The nickname slipped out naturally, like this was how it was meant to be. Bo laughed at herself, she had only just met the young something and yet she already felt comfortable in her presence.

Bo watched as Kenzie came over, he mouth was open and she looked like she was about to drool over the food. Bo laughed, "It's not going to be that good, but you need to learn to cook something to survive university." Kenzie didn't look like she had registered anything Bo had said, instead focusing on the food in front of her. She brought a fork that mysteriously materialized to her eggs and started to shovel them into her mouth. Bo laughed again, it reminded her a little of Dyson when they had first meet and he was till a gangly teenager.

Bo looked down at her own food and began to eat much more slowly then Kenzie was. She looked like she would finish in a minute at the rate she was going. Kenzie eventually realized that she was being watched and asked "What? Do I have something on my face?"

Bo laughed and replied "No." going back to eating her own food. Eventually they both finished after Kenzie had devoured the equivalent of three plates worth of food. Bo took both of their plates and put them to soak in the sink. It was time for her to get some answers. She motioned for Kenzie to go back to the living room, seeming to understand Kenzie went over and sat on the couch. Bo followed soon after and sat down in the armchair she had occupied earlier that day.

She then looked at the young shape shifter in front of her and asked the elephant in the room question "What are you?"

Kenzie looked contemplative for a moment before she began to respond, "I'm…"


	4. Chapter III: The Devil Play's a Trumpet

**A/N: Thank-you so much to the people who have left reviews, who have started to follow/favourited the story. Thank-you so much for the kind words. This chapter, well it sort of wrote itself, and kind of became exposition the chapter. Lauren finally appears in this one, and her connection with Bo is sort of revealed. As usual spelling and grammar errors are mine, and yes this story does take place in Canada. Have fun, and if you have any questions about things, you can PM me. **

Fae. That was the name of the group of creatures the young woman in front of her belonged. They were mythological beings, often but not always with supernatural powers, and the sources of myths and legends of the past. If she had not seen the person? Thing? Fae? In front of her shifting, she would not have believed what she had seen. Hell it was still a shock even though she had seen it happening in front of her.

As these thoughts ran through her head she stared at Kenzie wide eyed. She looked so human, and yet she had seen the person in front of her shift from a small creature the size of her two palms into the young, albeit short, woman, in front of her. Bo blinked and pinched herself, she felt a stinging pain. This was not a dream, it was reality, and yet it did not seem to be at the same time. The voice of logic in her head said it was impossible. Her university degree said that she had most likely finally snapped due to the PTSD, she was hallucinating. Her experience as a soldier said that this should be impossible. All of these things said that what was in front of her should be impossible, and yet her eyes had not lied to her. This was reality, and yet her brain was not computing it. She almost began laughing again, this situation was so absurd, so irrational. It was like something out of a television show or a movie, and yet it had suddenly become her reality.

"BoBo." There was a voice calling her. She just kept staring into space. Suddenly fingers appeared in her vision snapping. The sound reached her ears. It sounded like an IED. _How did she know that?_ The heat of the desert was starting to creep in, an explosion, some screaming. Bo took a deep breath and focused on the person in front of her. It was Kenzie, a young woman with raven hair and the most piercing blue eyes she'd ever seen. She had not been in Afghanistan. Bo breathed a little. She needed to talk with her psychiatrist.

"Please don't make that sound again." Bo asked Kenzie a seriousness in her voice. The young woman got a look in her face. She went back to sitting on the coach an uncharacteristically serious look crossing her face. "You were having a flashback weren't you. Just now. I know the look you get on your face, the fact that you shifted your gaze to me and focused, almost to the point of being hyper focused. And yet you brought yourself back, you're also in therapy." Kenzie spouted it of, almost automatically, as if she had seen this before.

"Your name is Bo Dennis, you were a Master Corporal in the O group of the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment, 2nd Mechanized Brigade. Based out of CFB Pettawa. You were deployed in Kandahar Province of Afghanistan in the autumn of 2008. You were injured in an IED explosion on a routine patrol, you saved the life of a man by carrying him in a fireman's carry despite severe injuries to all extremities, and suffering from what should have been fatal blood loss." Why was Kenzie saying all of this! How did she even know half of these things? Some of these she couldn't even remember herself. _What had they called it again? _Traumatic amnesia is what she had been diagnosed with, they had thought she would get the memory back but she never had. It was one of the first signs she had been developing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

She was going to… no she focused on the room around them. Had she remembered her medication this morning? Focus on your surrounding, what is going on around you? The photos on the walls of her and Tamsin on a date it had been taken about a year back. This was in the time when she had been going stepping back the therapy, her flashbacks had come under control and she was starting to feel as if she was gaining control of her life again. Tamsin had taken her out to celebrate her success that night. It had been wonderful. Bo shook her head and moved onto the next photograph, it was of Dyson, Tamsin, and her at the former two's graduation. She could feel the tightness starting to creep out of her chest the anxiety was disappearing.

"Kenzie…" Bo started. She was interrupted; Kenzie was continuing to say things "Attached to your group was a medic from the 1st Field Ambulance group, which is a part of the Canadian Forces Medical Services Field Units. She and you were close, you could be considered the best of friends." Bo remembered the medic she was talking about in vivid detail. Her name was Lauren Lewis, a medic who had been attached to their group. She and Lauren had grown incredibly close in their time in Afghanistan, as close as they could on a battlefield; Lauren had been one of the survivors from that day she had been told. She had been told she had been the one to call the base, let them know that they needed the ambulances.

Bo owed Lauren her life, or at least that's how she thought of it. Kenzie looked at her, a long hard look, like she was trying to figure out what to say next. "Bo do you know who Lauren is?"

Bo nodded her head, she knew exactly who Lauren was. "She was a close friend of mine, one of the few women in my unit. She was one of the bravest and most loyal people I had ever meet. Lauren was a doctor she was serving out her required years after she completed medical school and residency. The army payed for her medical school, and in return she had to serve time. Lauren is also the reason that I am alive today. I was told that when the IED exploded she found me and was the one to call the ambulances. I had passed out after rescuing a man in our unit, a private I was told. She also saved his life that day, made a tourniquet, applied pressure to the wound. She's a hero." There was a conviction in her voice that seemed that caused some indeterminable look to cross Kenzie's face.

Bo looked away and pulled up the long sleeve on her pyjama top. She heard Kenzie gasp in shock and say "Your arm…"

Bo didn't look at her arm she continued to stare at the wall opposite of her. "My arms and my legs are riddled in scars. I was told that I had shrapnel embedded in every limb. My muscles were torn from the shrapnel. I had lost several liters of blood from skin wounds and unfortunately placed shrapnel in my legs partially severing arteries. My nerves were also severely damaged. When I woke up I was in a hospital back in Canada with Tamsin holding my hand. I should have died that day, and yet I didn't. And I'm pretty sure that's because of Lauren."

Bo could feel Kenzie's eyes on her. "You can't look at your own arms or legs?" Kenzie asked. Bo quickly slipped the fabric down her arm again. "The scars are one of my triggers. I don't know why, my psychiatrist doesn't know why. It makes life so much more complicated." Bo told Kenzie as she shifted her head back in order to face the young woman. She saw Kenzie frowning.

"Why are you asking all of this?" There was a hint of something darker in Bo's tone. A stranger knew so much of her history, things she should not know. Events she could not recall…and Lauren. "I'm sorry BoBo but I needed to be sure you weren't an alien imposter."

Was Kenzie trying to crack a joke? A time like this? Bo suddenly burst out laughing, the situation was a little to absurd, and the idea that she was an alien imposter was absurd. It was all absurd! And yet the irrationality of it became rational with the evidence she had seen. Kenzie was smirking, a glint of mischief in her eye.

Kenzie smirked; she was so relieved that her joke had gotten through to the brunette in front of her. Bo's reaction to what she had been told, the way she talked about Hotpants. It all confirmed what Kenzie had suspected after learning her name last night. This was Hotpant's Bo, alive and breathing. A sudden frown crossed Kenzie's face. How was she going to tell Hotpants that the woman she had essentially spent two years mourning was very much alive and kicking, and had a girlfriend. When she had seen the scaring across Bo's arm she'd had to repress a gasp. The scaring was not extensive, but there had been faded pink lines covering a lot of the skins surface. The wounds must have been horrendous; the bleeding would have been extensive. Blood reflecting in the sun, ooh shinny! Bad Kenzie! Then another thought crossed her mind. If this was how bad one arm had been damaged, the other limbs. The overall injuries must have been horrific.

"Kenz, earth to Kenzie" Kenzie heard Bo calling her. She had stopped laughing; it looked like she had calmed there was even a slight smile on her face. She seemed more relaxed. That was good. "I really am sorry BoBo, but there was something I needed to confirm, other then you not being an alien imposter. You see I know Lauren, she talks a lot about you, and I needed to confirm that it was you."

Bo looked shocked and then happy. "You know Lauren? How? I never found out how to contact her after I got sent home. They told me she was alive but…" She was chattering happily. A rather abrupt change in mode from the conversation they had been having a minute ago. Kenzie smiled, so Lauren was not the only one who felt the pull of their bond after all. That was a good sign. Then Bo paused her chattering and opened her mouth. "Does that mean Lauren is…" Kenzie cut her off "That's for Hotpants to tell ya BoBo, not me."

Kenzie did not want to get stuck explaining the bond of an Artemis, especially when the Brunette already had a girlfriend. Kenzie groaned internally, not only did she have to tell Hotpants that her destined mate was alive, but tat she was with another woman. Artemis were renowned for theie jealous and protective streaks, both of which would manifest when the good Doc found out BoBo was alive.

"Hotpants talked about the killer bod you had. As well as your sparkling personality" She teased Bo. It was true Hotpants had mentioned a few times that Bo had a very attractive body. But more often she talked about how she admired the brunette's courage, that despite being a soldier she had had a huge heart. This was mostly when Lauren had been going through some of her darkest moments, but right here and now, Bo didn't need to know that. Kenzie looked over at Bo. The brunette had a blush on her face. Did she like Lauren? Kenzie grinned gleefully deciding to probe further. "What's with the tomato impression? Have a little something-something for the Doc?"

Bo looked her in the eye in that moment and shook her head no. That was confusing. The bond should have caused romantic emotions to manifest… unless. She bluntly asked Bo "Were you attracted to the Doc? Like physically I mean?"

Bo gave her a blank look and shook her head again. No. Kenzie became incredibly confused. Bo looked contemplative for a moment as if wondering whether she should tell Kenzie something or not. Eventually she nodded her head to herself a little. "I don't feel sexual attraction the same way you do Kenz. Or at least I assume you do." Kenzie looked at Bo incredibly puzzled. The bond of an Artemis should have manifested as mild physical attraction it did for Hotpants. It was followed by a pull of the minds, a desire for the persons company. Kenzie's thought's got interrupted by Bo continuing. "I'm Demisexual. It essentially means that for me, sexual attraction doesn't usually manifest itself until I know the person incredibly well. Normally it manifests after a person falls in love, but it can manifest from any strong emotional bond. And even then a close emotional bond is no gurantee."

That was weird. Not how Hotpants had described Bo at all, she had descried the brunette as incredibly sexual, almost like a succubus would have been, and yet what she was being told, was essentially the opposite. Bo paused, looking like she was thinking for a second. "Tamsin, the blond you likely saw with me last night. I love her romantically, but I'm not sexually attracted to her. To me her body is aesthetically pleasing, but I have no desire to have sex with her. I've been sexually attracted to one person in the past, one of my best friends, Dyson. We slept together a few times but nothing ever came of it on my end. I was never in love with him the way I love Tamsin, it was a purely physical thing."

Kenzie took a moment to process this. It was such a contrast to the way Hotpants had described Bo that it was hard to wrap her head around, and yet it was ironic because the Artemis mate did not know her destined one as well as she thought she had. She was also confused as to why Bo was telling her all of this, and yet she didn't seem to mind. She had felt connected to the woman the instant they meet and she was fast coming to consider Bo a good friend. Bo finally stopped talking and looked Kenzie in the eye and said "To answer your original question, no I was not sexually attracted to Lauren. She was quite pleasing on the eyes, and had the potential to be an amazing romantic partner, but through the relatively short time I knew her, I could not say I liked her that way. I considered her to be a close friend and nothing more. Although I won't deny that the potential was there, but it wasn't a good time or place and then the IED and we lost contact."

Kenzie nodded, that made a modicum of sense. For Bo the bond had manifested as surprisingly close friendship surprisingly fast for a woman she had barely known. Bo had also said that there was the potential for Hotpants as a girlfriend, so in essence everything was on track, just out of order. She laughed a little, she had a feeling that many things would be become very interesting very quickly once Bo was reintroduced to Lauren. "Right then. I'm going to get going, places to go, things to steal… all in a good days work." She told Bo, trying to be as jovial as possible. She actually needed to figure out how to tell Hotpant's that her love was alive and well.

Bo looked like she was about to burst out laughing at what Kenzie had said. "Do you want my number? So that we can talk more about all of this? And can you please let Lauren know that I would love it if she could contact me."

"Yah that would be awesome BoBo. I'll let Hotpants know to call you." _After I tell her you're alive. _"Can you not tell Tam-Tam about the Fae for now. Humans kinda aren't supposed to know about our being living breathing things. So can you keep it on the down low?"

"I kinda doubt that she would believe me, this whole situation is kind of insane." Bo laughed. "Let me just get a piece of paper so that I can write down my number, okay. And Kenz, just so you know, you always have a place to sleep here, well a couch, we don't actually have a guest room, if you ever need it."

Kenzie felt herself tearing up a little bit. Bo was only the second person to ever offer this to her. Hotpants was the first. She shook her head, they truly must be meant for each other, such bleeding hearts. Lost in her thoughts she hadn't heard the shuffling of Bo looking around for a pen and paper, the next thing she new she had a piece of paper with a phone number shoved in her face. Kenzie reach up and took the paper from Bo, "Hey space case, that paper has my cellphone number and the house phone. Take good care of yourself okay?

Kenzie nodded, she felt a pair of lips briefly touch her forehead. She was about to tear up again. When was the last time someone other than Lauren had cared for her like this? She shook her head, she was getting soft being exposed to such mushy people. _Gah_ they deserved each other! Kenzie was many things but she was not a mushy person, or at so she told herself.

Kenzie walked to the door. And looked back. She saw Bo smile at her and say "See you later, Kenzie. You also have a standing dinner invitation okay?"

Kenzie nodded and smiled. Just before she closed the door she heard Bo muttering something about needing to call Tamsin. Kenzie shook her head; those two definitely had an interesting relationship. Tamsin from the little she saw was very loving to Bo, but had no idea how she acted when she was in public. Bo was essentially the same as the way that Hotpants had described her, a big-hearted giant teddy bear.

Kenzie wandered around the hallway trying to find the elevator. The hallway was a drab colour, a rather generic shade of beige with evenly spaced sidelights near the apartment doors. After walking in precisely the wrong direction for a few minutes and hitting a wall she found the elevator. Like the hallway the elevator was rather generic. It had wooden panels, a generic elevator, outdated but useful. Kenzie reached over and hit the white plastic button which said "L", she assumed that it meant lobby.

When the elevator opened she was greeted with a lobby full of generic furniture. "What is this? Apartment genericana? " She quickly left, it was kind of creepy how generic looking this building was. When she exited onto the street she realized that she was in the middle of the downtown core. On a street that looked the same as any other in the downtown core, concrete street, and high-rise apartment buildings. Kenzie groaned "Why didn't I bring my phone last night?" Google Maps would be incredibly useful right now; hell even Apple Maps would be fine right now.

Then she saw a street sign. Woot, Kenzie was good! There should be a bus stop around here somewhere. She reached into her pocket for the bus tickets she carried around with her and quickly walked around up and down the street attempting to locate a stop. After a moment of wondering around she found the bus stop. Letting out a tiny whoop of joy she murmured "Who's Scooby Do now?" She was hungry again. Stupid Kitsune body, she needed to ask Lauren abut her appetite, it was getting ridiculous the amount of food that she could eat.

She quickly boarded the bus, attempting to find a seat away from the other people. Public transport was not her favourite form of transportation; she would personally rather "liberate" a car from its owner temporarily or permanently if it was nice enough. However Hotpants tended to frown upon stealing, so public transit it was. She tried not to think about who had been sitting on the seat before her because if she did she end up getting off to soon from the potential fashion faux paus.

Looking around at the other people on the bus she shuddered, so many clashing clothing styles. Ooh shiny necklace. She almost reached over to pet it. Why was she so addicted to shiny things! She almost missed her stop from all of the shiny. Quickly getting out she looked around. It was a nicer part of town then the one Bo lived in. There was a park full of trees and other things of greenery across the street from a low-rise apartment building.

She approached the much more modern building, it was made of smooth beige walls in a large slabs, resting one on top of the other. There were evenly spaced large windows, giving the inside of the building plenty of natural light and balconies on the upper floor with sides made of opaque tempered glass.

She quickly removed her key and approached the door. Entering through the outer door she put her key into the inner door's lock, opening the secure building. Ensuring that the door closed behind her Kenzie mad her way to the elevator. She pressed the button for the 4th floor.

Then she noticed that the elevator she was in was covered in the bumper pads, meaning that some schmuck must have moved in here recently. This apartment building went through more tenants… she couldn't come up with some sarcastic quip. She was to focused on how she what she was going to tell Hotpants about Bo, hell she wouldn't be surprised if she got an earful from Hotpants for not at least checking in last night to let Hotpants know where she was. She rolled her eyes at that, Hotpants was a good friend, but sometimes she hovered over her like a worried mother.

Her musings were interrupted when she heard a ding. The elevator had arrived. She exited the elevator and into a dark green coloured hallway lined with tall and heavy looking doors made of dark wood. She stepped out of the elevator and walked around the corner, stopping in front of the door to the place she called home for all intents and purposes.

Kenzie inserted the key into the lock not bothering with being quite. Hotpants should be at the lab this time of day, although there was a chance she was working from home, but either way she never slept past noon.

When Kenzie went into the apartment she was greeted with the site of a pacing Lauren, who was holding her cellphone in her hand looking desperate. Uh-oh she was in trouble. When Hotpants got worried she paced, and pacing never lead to fully intact Kenzie. Kenzie cleared her throat trying to get Lauren's attention. "Hi Lo-Lo, I'm home-home."

She tried a bad pun, hoping it would make Lauren laugh. Lauren looked up and shot Kenzie a death glare. She felt herself shrink back ever so slightly. Hotpants looked, like Dr. Freeze, an expression she hadn't seen since they first met. Then Lauren rushed forward and engulfed Kenzie in a hug.

"I'm so glad your safe." She sounded so sad. Kenzie wanted to hit herself over the head for making Hotpants worry. "What happened to you last night? You weren't here when I got home, and you had left your phone. I went out looking, thinking you might have gotten to drunk at one of your usual places but you weren't at any of them."

Lauren was rambling. She must have been scared. Kenzie sighed and awkwardly patted Lauren on the back. "I'm fine Hotpants. Although there is something that I need to tell you."

Lauren pulled back from her hug looking worried. "Did something happen to you?"

Kenzie pulled back. "I'm fine Hotpants, but you might want to sit down 'cause what I'm about to tell you is out of this world awesome." Kenzie saw Lauren pull back and look confused. Kenzie wondered what else she would say, hell at this point keeping Hotpants calm was more important then how she would actually break the news.

Kenzie saw the look of confusion fade, a small smile of fondness pass on Hotpants features. "Okay Kenz. But you have to tell me what happened."

Kenzie smirked. This would be an interesting story. Where to start? From the beginning would probably be best.

"I was running low on money…" Kenzie could hear Hotpants groan. "You went pickpocketing again, Kenzie we talked about this." Lauren sounded exasperated.

"Ix ney on the ickpocketpay. You know I prefer the term liberate, or borrow without the intention of returning." Lauren groaned again. "Anyways stop interrupting Blondie or else you will get no story from the Kenzie and never find out what an adventure I went on last night." She saw Hotpants smile fondly. "Okay Kenzie."

"I decided to go to one of the swanky hotel bars, incognito, you see. The rich guys in those bars won't miss their wallets so much I had though. So anyways I had been getting lucky all evening, I had already "liberated" several wallets from their owners, when this rich looking Texan dude walks up from the bar. I'd seen him flirting with the bartender, pretty brunette, and he walked over with a drink. Offering it to me, I took the opportunity to liberate his wallet while he gave me the drink." Lauren was nodding along, but had appeared to start getting concerned at the mention of the Texan.

"I could smell something in the drink, but decided to drink it anyways. Before you say anything Hotpants I know that it was incredibly stupid. Anyway, I got slammed by whatever was in the drink almost immediately, I started to feel woozy so I started to leave the bar, hopin' to get out before the drugs effected me fully you know? So I called the elevator. Then the creepy dude from the bar earlier got into the elevator with me." Lauren gasped and was about to get up. "Cool your pants Hotpants. I'm fine. The bartender I told you about? She saved me, brought me back to her place for the night, to sleep off the drug, I guess. Don't know what happened to creepy Texan."

Kenzie took a breath, here came to part that could send Hotpants into a protective craze. "She woke me with a piercing scream in the middle of the night. I went to see if she needed saving. Thinking we may have both been taken by the crazy rich dude. Instead I found her in the middle of a nightmare, her girl trying to wake her up, at one point the bartender's partner called her name." I took a deep breath and looked Lauren in the eye. "It was Bo, Lauren."

Lauren started to protest. "It couldn't have been the same woman Kenzie. I told you Bo died..." her voice got quiet choked with emotion. "You know I saw her injuries. She had lost so much blood, there was shrapnel everywhere…" Hotpants sounded like she was about to cry.

"You know that that day was both the best and worst day of my life. I found out who my love was, my mate. That was the same day she got taken away from me…" Lauren was starting to cry a little. "I lost her… before something could even start. Before the curse could take hold, before we even had a chance to fight." Kenzie saw Lauren bury her face in her hands; she was trying to calm herself.

"Except she's not dead, Lo. You got told she was shipped back to Canada, yah? You assumed she had died." Kenzie was cut off. "I saw her injuries unless she was Fae they were fatal." Lauren's head shot up. "Is she Fae? Is that how survived? I saw her eyes glowing. I always assumed it was a trick of the light… but if not…" Lauren started to babble. "Is she a succubus? I always though she might have been."

Kenzie cut Lauren off before she could get her hopes to high. "Until this morning Bo had not idea that the Fae existed. I accidently shifted as I fell asleep after being woken up by her. She saw me shifting back this morning." Lauren's face fell; Kenzie could see she understood the implication of her sentence, that Bo was human.

"Lo, there is one other things I need to tell you. You know how I said that Bo woke me up in the middle of the night because of a nightmare? Well I wasn't the one who woke her up…"

"I already heard you say it Kenzie. Bo has a girlfriend. I already knew that. Was she blonde? Looked to be of Scandinavian descent? " Kenzie nodded mutely. " They were dating sort of while Bo was deployed. I already knew about her. I had no intentions of perusing a taken woman Kenzie. I have to say I'm a little shocked they're still together, or maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part." There was a short laugh, almost sarcastic, or like she was doubting herself.

"Is it funny if I say I feel conflicted? One part of me, the Artemis part of me is screaming to find and possess and protect Bo, my mate. And yet another portion of me is saying, just be happy that she is happy, that she is being well taken care of…" Lauren looked puzzled for a second as if remembering something that I had said.

Then a growl. Kenzie had been afraid of this. "You said she has nightmares?" Lauren's eyes were glowing ever so slightly; she had a biological imperative to protect her mate from pretty much anything, including the things she could not otherwise protect her from. Kenzie shook her head sadly, that biological imperative was both a curse, in the most literal sense, and a blessing. Another growl. "Well?"

Kenzie nodded mutely, it was really not her place to be doing this but telling Hotpants may be the only was to get her to be Coolpants again. "LoLo, BoBo has PTSD. Nightmares, flashbacks, she has both, along with other symptoms that I'm not even sure of."

Lauren growled again, her eyes starting to glow more intensely, it was now possible to see the silver, so like the moonlight. Kenzie could tell that she was not happy. Her biological imperatives were taking control. Kenzie could see Lauren attempting to even out her breathing, trying to calm down. She was fighting her nature, as per usual. Then Kenzie heard something that shocked her ever so slightly. A whimpering, a sobbing. "I was there, I should have protected her."

Kenzie reached over and awkwardly patted Lauren on the back. "You know there was nothing you could have done that day Lauren. You said you were what? Concussed and had a broken leg? Don't forget you have nightmares to, sometimes you get lost in memories. You needed to focus on yourself when you came back. You thought you had lost the woman you love, the only person you will ever love romantically. So don't apologize for not being there, you didn't know. You made the logical assumption that she had died from her wounds. Bo's not Fae Lauren, there should have been no way for her to survive."

Kenzie could hear Lauren sigh and a murmur of "You're right Kenz. But you know that for me, I put her first, because that's what I am. That's who she is to me. I hate it, but at times I am defined by my species." Lauren sighed. "Anything else I should know about all of this?"

Kenzie shook her head, the rest was not her place to tell Lauren. Lauren sighed and sat back into the couch heavily. "I'm sorry Kenz. This is just a lot to take in at the moment. It's all so much. I go from thinking the woman I love is dead, to finding out she alive. And living in the same city as that. It's all so ridiculous. I'm going to go and head into work. I need a few hours to think, and calm down. When I get back can we talk some more? I want to know anything else I can, how's she changed, what's she like? But for now I need some time to process all of this."

Kenzie watched as Lauren walked into the entrance-way and grab her coat. She turned back and smiled, although it was tight. "Thank-you, for telling me all of this. I just need some time…I should be back some time before dinner. If you need anything just call me. And if you're still feeling the effects of the drugs when I get back I want you to tell me so that I can examine you. Okay?"

Kenzie nodded and with that Lauren closed the door. Kenzie sighed and slumped in the chair. Lauren had taken that better then she could have hoped. Then she felt the piece of paper shifting in her pocket. She whacked herself on the head. She had forgotten to tell Hotpants she had gotten BoBo's number. Kenzie shrugged, _Oh Well. _Kenzie went into the kitchen to make herself a sandwich.


	5. Chapter IV: From the Past

**A/N: And here's Lauren! As usual all spelling and grammar errors are mine. **

**Alright Question and Answer Time:**

**Guest- Kenzie forgot to tell Lauren because she was distracted by shiny things xD**

**LOCISVU- Only Lauren though Bo was dead. Bo just had no way of contacting Lauren, they never exchanged contact information, and Bo had no idea what happened to Lauren beyond knowing that she was alive. **

**A.W. doccubus- Keep reading, somethings are revealed in this chapter. The Artemis are also based on the goddess Artemis, if you know her mythology well you will know why the Artemis only ever fall in romantic love once. **

**Athena64- I will emphasize this. The reversal is complete. Those who were Fae are now human and vice versa. Bo is human. Always has been always will be. Although just because she's phenotypically human does not mean that she is 100% human. **

Lauren stared at the slide on the microscope in front of her. She was looking at the tissues of a Satyr, who was experiencing terrible pain in his legs. She was attempting to see if there was anything wrong with the muscle tissues, however so far nothing appeared to be wrong, at least according to the book she had sitting next to her.

Lauren sighed, she was a trauma surgeon, or at least that was what she had completed her residency in. However after returning from Afghanistan and receiving an honourable discharged, she couldn't bring herself to enter an ER. Instead she had opted to take a job offer from the Ash himself to become his personal physician. She hadn't expected the job to involve being a research scientist, infectious disease specialist, and clinical pathologist, hence why she had a textbook on Satyr physiology open at her side. The Satyr was a close friend of the Ash's and the he had told her to do this as a favour to him.

Lauren sighed and brought her eyes away from the eye-piece. She wasn't going to get any more work done today. Lauren had hoped that by coming to the lab she would be able to forget about what she had learned, Lauren glanced at her watch, two hours ago. Kenzie had come home at noon after being out all night, only to tell her a rather odd tale, which included being drugged, and saved by a bartender who just happened to be her mate. A person she had thought died in Afghanistan, and it fact relieved her death at least twice a week in her dreams.

Lauren sighed. How was she going to deal with Bo? The obviously human Bo. She had seen her eyes glow that day, and yet she had never heard of the Fae, her wounds should have been fatal for a human, and yet she survived. Was it really correct to conclude that Bo was human? The evidence pointed against that hypothesis, and yet… it would make more sense. The mates of Artemis were often human. Lauren snorted a little.

The fully-grown members of her species were cursed. They could only ever fall in love once in their lifetime; more often then not they did not even meet the person they were destined for because they were human, a hundred year lifespan at best. And when they did meet, a bond formed, and when that bond was discovered, and confessed to, a curse set in. Attempting to kill the mate of an Artemis, the fates were cruel to her species.

Lauren shook her head; the curse was more then likely a myth. It was incredible to think that every single Artemis bond was doomed from the start. And Bo… she had always been someone to go against the odds, Lauren needed to run tests. To find if she was human or Fae. That would inform her next course of action.

She saw two separate distinct scenarios forming in her mind. If Bo was Fae then they would need to determine what species she was, help her learn to control her powers. Lauren didn't want to speculate on what type of Fae Bo could be, but she had an idea that she could potentially be a succubus. Bo was so confident, so sensual; she had an almost supernaturally good-looking body. She would need to do research into Artemis-Succubus bonds and research how the succubus was sustained, whether monogamy was possible…Lauren shook her head, it was crazy. Bo could be any species of Fae. And yet what Kenzie said about her stuck out in her mind…was she letting her hope blind her? Bo being Fae would make everyone involved lives easier, but the odds were against her.

When she had realized she had met her love she had done as much research into the Artemis and their bonds. The results were depressing, most of the Artemis who had meet their loves had either died protecting them, or had been bonded to a human. Lauren did not want to think about what complications could arise if Bo was human. It would not be pleasant for them, but Lauren knew that she would fight for Bo, for a chance for them to be together, because that was what her species demanded her to do, is what her heart screamed at her to do. And yet a larger portion of her brain screamed out, that she should respect Bo and what was her name? Tamsin's relationship. If Bo and her had been together for this long… there was obvious commitment. Especially if the blonde woman was with Bo in the middle of the night… if it was like anything Kenzie had done for her then she was sacrificing quite a bit.

The injuries that she remembered witnessing, how had Bo recovered from those? Did she loose any limbs? Had the scars healed well? Had she been handled as she should of? Was she still recovering from the long-term effects of the scars and the potential muscle damage? If so what were they? Was she being monitored for issues from the damage she had obviously taken? What was the extent of her internal injuries? How had she recovered and how fast? Some of this information could lead to conclusions about her status. Another part of her pointed out that she was mostly just worried about Bo, she should have been there for the recovery. She should have been helping her, been there when she woke up. She stopped that train of thought, it would do her no good to be caught up in the past, of what ifs and should haves. Lauren sighed; she hated the conflict between her nature as a Fae and the scientist in her.

She looked around the lab, quickly realizing that she would get no more work done. Lauren quickly decided that perhaps a walk in nature would help her thoughts centre… when was the last time she had been out at night? She was due to feed soon but…she shook her head, her thoughts drifting back to Bo.

There was the issue of Bo's PTSD. The more primal part of her demanded that she take away her love's pain and yet she could not. How badly was Bo affected? She didn't know Bo that well anymore, she couldn't judge the situation until she got closer. And then there were the nightmares that they both had. How much of that day did Bo remember? What specifically caused her nightmares?

So many questions and so few answers. The scientist in her demanded answers. The Artemis in her demanded she take away her love's pain. Her heart wanted to be there for her and comfort her. But her brain was asking, was she ready for all of this? She needed to take care of herself to. There was the issues the explosion had caused her, although confirming Bo as being amongst the living should help with those…

Picking-up where they left off was not an option, two years had passed, they had become different people from their experiences. She hoped that there was still hope of salvaging a relationship though, perhaps if she was around Bo it would help her thoughts settle, it would satisfy her nature. Yet in the smaller portion of her mind that her heart occupied, screamed at her that it wouldn't be enough. She wanted everything with Bo, a relationship, to be there for her, support her, comfort her, maybe eventually settle down and get married. Have kids.

It was these thoughts that also lead to another problem. Tamsin, would she be able to control herself? What is she saw them together, it had been hard enough last time when the bond was only starting to form and Tamsin had been half a world away… would she be able to stand seeing Bo with another woman? She already knew the answer to that, but she couldn't help but deny it. She would try and be happy for Bo, supportive, a good friend and nothing more. The thought hurt, but it was what she needed to do.

She didn't realize that she had made it to the entrance of he compound until she nearly ran into the industrial strength steel doors. She quickly took a deep breath and pushed the doors open into the outside. She quickly walked of in the direction of the forest. She knew she could relax there, perhaps try to think more clearly about the situation.

She walked along the concrete path heading towards the rather large clump of trees in the middle of the city that seemed to pass for a forest, at least for her. As she walked she looked around, the world seemed to have a little more colour in it then it did yesterday. Lauren knew that scientifically that was impossible and yet she couldn't help but smile, it felt amazing, she knew her love was alive. Their situation was beyond complicated but the worst of the situation was over, it would be all right. Bo was alive and that was a start. They should be able to work out any other complications in their lives. It would be a step learning curve Lauren decided but not an insurmountable one. The logical portion of her mind pointed out that she had no idea of what Bo's situation looked like, but in this one moment she didn't care, for the first time since that day she actually felt _happy. _

She reached the forest, stopping and shaking her head. She was being ridiculous. There was so much that could go wrong with her and Bo. There was the question of whether or not she was even Fae, and if not, that would complicate things immensely. She would need to do reading, to find out more about what the human mates of the Artemis went through, if they had any special privileges in the Fae world, if they could move about as they pleased or… Lauren shuddered at the other possibility. She would rather run then have to do that to Bo. Then there were the laws Fae-Human relationships were illegal. A portion of her was screaming to ignore the law, but she shuddered… the punishment would be immense. Where their provisions in place for Fae who couldn't control who they were mated to? Or was the law universal, with universal application?

Lauren sighed. Bo being alive paradoxically complicated the situation and uncomplicated the situation at the same time. It was amazing how much destruction this woman could bring into her life, and yet she was willing to take it. Her mind was made up, for now she would attempt to be Bo's friend, perhaps drop a hint or two that she was available and willing to go for something more. She sighed, wishing with her heart and mind that Tamsin was not involved in the situation, it would uncomplicated things so much, she could pursue Bo, and they could become more.

She looked around and took in the, well it should have been greenery, but right now it was mostly dead. Winter would be starting soon in earnest; there would be snow on the ground before the end of the month. Lauren sighed, wishing desperately that she could go hunting, it would clear her mind, allow her to calm down, and yet she could never bring herself to shoot any creatures. She was a healer, not a hunter like so many of her kind. Lauren decided to simply wander around the woods, it was still daylight, even if she noticed that it would be changing soon. Had she really been out that long? The sun was already setting, it must have been past 4:00 in the afternoon. She would need to start heading home, so much for clearing her thoughts in the woods. Perhaps she would sleep with her curtains open partially tonight, let herself feed a little from the moon, perhaps that would set her on an even keel.

Lauren sighed and decided to call Kenzie. She wondered if the drug had been affecting the young Kitsune more then she had let on. She quickly brought out her smart phone and dialed the familiar number, lifting the phone to her ear she let it ring.

"Yeah Hotpants?" Kenzie replied as she picked up after the third ring. "Sorry Kenzie I was just calling to check in on you." She replied into the phone.

"I'm fine Dr. WorriedPants. You know that it takes more than a drug to knock this Kitsune down." Lauren had to laugh. Kenzie appeared to be back to her usual self. Unconsciously she started to walk forward as she continued to talk. "I was just wondering what you wanted for dinner, its my turn to cook tonight isn't it? I'll just need to stop at the grocery store on the way home…" Lauren bumped into something. She heard an 'oomph' as someone hit the ground. Lauren looked up, she didn't even realize she had been walking looking at her shoes.

"Watch where you're going would yah?" an irate blonde told her as she kneeled on the ground. Was she the one she had bumped into? Then Lauren looked slightly to the side of the blonde woman, a stunning brunette was lying on the sidewalk. She seemed to be twitching slightly.

"I'm so sorry are you alright? Can I examine your head for a moment? I'm a doctor. I would hate it if you were injured because of me…" Lauren started to ramble. Then she noticed the brunette's face, it was one she had never forgotten. The woman she had bumped into was Bo, which meant that the irate blonde next to her must be Tamsin, her girlfriend. She had to suppress a growl. Bo was hers! No bad! Argh, it was like she had two people in her head at times. Focus Lauren, Bo needs you now, you can actually help with this, be there now…

She caught herself saying "Bo…" it was almost in an anguished choked sound. She could see Tamsin shifting, starting to stand up. Ready to defend her mind supplied. "Who the hell are you? And how the hell do you know my girlfriend?" was growled out in rage. Lauren could feel herself responding, she was sure her eyes were starting to glow Bo was hers. No!

Throughout all of this they had both been ignoring Bo, who appeared to have been shifting around and was trying to sit up. "I'm fine really don't worry, just watch were you're going next time okay? Tamsin I'm… Lauren?" she registered the shock in Bo's voice. "Hi Bo."

She just wanted to reach out and hug the woman in front of her and never let go. Yet she restrained herself because that would not be appropriate. She looked at Bo and caught a glimpse of a smile on her face and in her eyes. She looked happy. She saw that Bo was about to reach out when she was cut off by a voice "Bo, who the hell is this?" Ah yes Tamsin, how she just wanted to tell the woman to leave her and Bo alone so that they could catch-up. Then she noticed something, Bo's eyes were starting to fog over, almost as if she was lost in memory. She could hear a gasp.

Tamsin was growling, "Get away from her…" she moved to block Lauren from Bo's vision. Lauren wanted to ask what was going on, the logical part of her mind was analyzing the situation with an amused detachment. The Artemis portion of her was screaming at her to shove Tamsin out of the way and to try and comfort her mate. She remained frozen in place.

Tamsin was kneeling in front of Bo, not touching her. "Come on baby… come back. Do you feel the temperature, its cold out… you're not in the heat. Your home, look at me. I wasn't there with you was I? Come on babe. You know where you are. Focus on what's around you, not what's in your head."

Lauren could feel a growl forming in her throat. How dare Tamsin be talking to _her _mate. It was her job to protect her, to bring her back. Lauren halted these thoughts, she hated the possessive part of the bond, it was unhealthy. Then the words that Tamsin was saying registered in her mind…Bo was having a flashback? What could have triggered her. There was nothing around that was even remotely associated with a desert, an explosion. Was there blood around? She could see no signs of sights or smell's… voices. Lauren's voice. _Oh No. _

She looked over at Bo and Tamsin. Tamsin was hugging Bo far to intimately for a public space, but then again she could understand. She wanted to be the person in Tamsin's place so badly. But she didn't even know if she could help…

She was standing up to leave when she suddenly remember her phone. "I am so sorry Kenzie. But can I explain tomorrow? I'm going to pick up some pizza for us on my way home okay? Bye." She quickly hung up. She was about to leave when she noticed Bo looking at her. Bo was smiling weakly. "Hi Lauren. Sorry about this." Tamsin growled slightly and pulled her closer mumbling something into her hair. She almost growled in reply. "Tam, I'm okay. You can let me go. You remember the medic that they attached to my unit? That was Lauren. The one who saved my life." She heard Bo murmur to Tamsin.

She saw Tamsin loosen the death grip she had on Bo ever so slightly. It was both happy and sad to watch how Tamsin cared for Bo, part of her growled Bo was hers dammit! Lauren shook her head, she needed to stop thinking like this, it would only cause her to self destruct. But seeing the way Tamsin looked at Bo also made her want to growl. It was such a stupid dichotomy.

Lauren could see Bo separate herself from Tamsin, mumbling something to her as she detangled herself from the embrace. Tamsin stood up and backed off slightly shooting Lauren a glare that would kill her a hundred times over if looks could kill. Bo sighed and said "Sorry about Tamsin, she's a little… overprotective at times." Lauren wanted to laugh, if Bo thought that was overprotective she would hate to see how she reacted to Lauren if the bond ever fully awakened.

"We have a lot to talk about, a lot of catching up to do. I have a few questions on some more _personal _matters, if you catch my drift. So is there a good time we can meet? A good place?"

Lauren felt herself blushing slightly, Bo's proximity was almost to much, she wanted to reach out and hug the woman in front of her. She again squashed the urge. Lauren smiled, she was so happy that Bo wanted to meet to catch up. "Any evening's fine. Can I give you a call? Do you even have a cell phone? If not we could email? Or would you prefer texts…" She was cut off by Bo laughing. "I see some things never change. You still ramble when your nervous Meddy." Lauren could feel a dopy smile spread across her face. She quickly schooled her features again. Stupid love. Stupid mate. Her heart was practically jumping for joy, while her mind was wondering how she was going to get a sample of Bo's blood.

"Kenzie said she knew you?" Lauren nodded quickly. "She has my number." Lauren nearly growled. Kenzie had not mentioned that, when she got home her roommate would have to answer more questions. She shook her head and said "Bye, Bo. I hope to see you soon. It was a pleasure running into you."

Bo surprised Lauren by hugging her briefly. Lauren wrapped her arms around Bo's waist, never wanting to let go. It felt so right to have Bo in her arms. She had to resist the urge to kiss her, to bury her face in the crook of her neck and tell her she loved her. "Bye, Lo." Was whispered into her ear. She felt like tearing up a little. This reminded her so much of their time together in Afghanistan. How she wished she could just keep holding Bo, and how she wished that they could be more.

She felt a quick kiss on her check and then Bo broke the embrace. She almost wanted to shout for joy, and yet she also wanted to cry in sorrow. She also wanted to pull Bo back into her arms and hug her forever, kiss her, feel her skin against hers, and yet she couldn't because despite Bo being her mate, they were not together, and she was with another. She shook her head. She could see Bo walking back over to Tamsin who had an unreadable look on her face, but Lauren noticed that as Bo approached Tamsin reached out her hand, and got a look of fondness in her eyes that she had not seen on the woman the seldom few times they had talked during Bo's Skype calls. She held her breath when she saw Bo take the other woman's hand, intertwining their fingers, flashing her a dazzling smile and heading off into the other direction.

Lauren felt like she could start crying. Her love was with another, and it hurt her desperately. She could feel a tear running down her cheek. Lauren sighed and whipped the tear away, now was neither the time nor the place for her to start crying. She had promised to pick Kenzie up some pizza. That should distract her from her churning thoughts, the conflict between her heart and her head.


	6. Chapter V: One Against All

**A/N: Thank-you all for such kind words in the last reviews, as well as all the favourites and follows. Enjoy this second chapter of the day. As per usual all spelling and grammar errors are mine. **

Lauren shifted groaning. She felt a warm body cuddle closer to hers. She tightened her arm around the person's waist, whispering into her hair. "Morning baby." She could feel a smile against her collarbone. She brought her hand up and ran it through the thick locks. She didn't want to open her eyes yet. She felt a soft kiss being pressed to her collarbone and felt the loose neck of her pyjama shirt being dragged away as more kisses were pressed on to her collarbone and shoulder. She felt so happy, so complete in this moment. She opened her eyes and was greeted with the sight of long brown hair, and a face nuzzling into her shoulder. No matter how they well asleep they always seemed to end up this way, on their sides facing each other, one person cuddled into the others chest or shoulder, or spooning, it always depended on how they fell asleep.

She pressed a kiss into the hair that was tickling her nose. She heard a sigh of contentment and a mumbling. She murmured into Bo's hair. "You can go back to sleep if you want baby. I'll be here when you wake up." She heard an agreeable mumbling. She felt Bo shift slightly and cuddle closer to her. Lauren tightened her arm around Bo's waist, just enjoying the feeling of holding her. She brought a hand up to her hair, running it through, soothing her love. She felt so calm and so complete, her mind was still and her heart was happy. She nuzzled her nose into Bo's hair; breathing in her scent it was so soothing, this felt so right. She heard another agreeable grumble from under her chin.

She could sense the evening out of the rise and fall of Bo's chest against her, it was so soothing, she just wanted to go back to sleep and yet she could not. She just wanted to stay awake and treasure this moment. She wished time could stop, that they could stay in this moment forever, Bo was safe, and comfortable and _hers. _The Artemis side of her was happy, sort of grumbling contently, almost purring in a way. She knew the only way she would be more satisfied if she could feel her love's skin against her own, but it was neither the time nor the place for that yet. _Soon _her mind supplied.

Then she heard something. "Lo, wake up." She ignored the sound, cuddling Bo closer to her and burying her face in Bo's hair. Trying to stay in the moment, she had to be careful though, she didn't want to wake up her love, it was so rare that Bo slept this well, she should enjoy it well it lasted.

"Come on Hotpants its time to wake up." She closed her eyes, ignoring the voice. She didn't know what it was talking about she was awake, she was happy, she was holding her love. She inhaled Bo's scent again, so sweet and warm. Like comfort and home. Was it so much to ask to let her stay in this moment for a little longer? She didn't think so; she glanced down at Bo, who had burrowed herself into Lauren's chest. She looked so right there, it was a perfect moment.

"Lauren, its time for you to wake-up." The voice sounded sterner this time. She continued to ignore it, holding Bo a little tighter to her and nuzzling her hair again. "LoLo, if you don't wake up I will get out the bucket of water."

Why was the voice so annoying! Couldn't it just leave her alone? She growled. It was her time with _her_ mate. The voice was intruding it was annoying. She just wanted her time with Bo to be alone. Uninterrupted. She squeezed Bo to her a little more, ready to turn her over to protect her from whatever was going to harm her. She felt someone or something touch her, and it wasn't Bo. _Danger_, to her or her mate she was not sure, either way her instincts screamed protect.

Lauren felt her eyes open, they were glowing bright silver. She growled. Who dared to harm her or her mate? They would pay dearly. She sat up in the bed ready to pounce. Then she saw Kenzie standing with a pale full of water at the foot of her bed, looking terrified.

The next thing she noticed was that she was the only person in her bed. It had been a dream. A glorious dream but still a dream. She felt herself starting to tear up. The moment had been to perfect. She should have known, and yet she had gotten lost in the fantasy, because that is what she desired. She felt tears starting to run down her cheeks. And she also felt herself mourning, for the loss of the feelings she had in the dream. She had been so content it had been so perfect.

Bo had been in her arms. She had been safe. She was able to comfort and protect. It was everything she had desired. However the thing she mourned the most for, was the feeling of closeness, of completion, and the connection she had felt to Bo, she missed it so much. She let out a sob. Why did her mind have to tease her so? It had felt so real, been so real.

She could hear Kenzie coming closer to her. She felt an awkward patting on her back. Kenzie was mumbling something. "Hotpants, its okay. Your mind was just messin' with yah. You know that BoBo's alive. She's just a little far away at this moment."

Lauren felt herself starting to cry harder. "It wasn't Afghanistan Kenz. I didn't loose Bo, she was here, with me. I woke up in my dream and she was sleeping in my arms… we were cuddling, she was lying in my arms. I felt so complete Kenz, I felt so connected to her. It was beautiful. There was no right or no wrong in that moment, there was not trouble. Just us in a morning, she was in my arms, I could protect her. She was _mine._"

"Hotpants. It was a dream. I know you love her, but if you keep clinging to her like this you will end up self destructing." Kenzie was trying to talk to her, keep her calm. At the this Lauren just started to cry harder. "You know I can't help this Kenz, it's the bond. If I didn't want to suffer, I would try to stop myself from falling in love her, but she's it." There was a tearful laugh. "She's my everything Kenz, I can't help who she is to me, and the way I feel about her. She could end up destroying me. If this is what it's like to be bonded to someone, it's the worst and the best feeling in the world. A paradox, just like everything else that seems to be involved with Bo."

Kenzie started at her without pity in her eye. She never pitied someone. She simply offered her an ear. She eventually heard Kenzie sigh. "LoLo, I forgot to tell you something from last night. When I left BoBo's generic building she gave me her number. I'm sorry Lauren I forgot to tell yah because well I…"

"Don't, Bo already told me that she gave you my number. I… she already asked if she and I could meet up, I said I would call. That I may call her and we cold set something up… she wanted to talk about the Fae, and what I am in relation to them. I have no idea what to tell her. How much to tell her."

Kenzie sighed. "BoBo knows that I'm a Kitsune, but I didn't tell her anthang because well she already saw me shiftin', so…" Lauren nodded along. "I know Kenz, its just I know I should tell her what I am, but I don't know what to tell about being an Artemis. She has a right to know about the bond and what it means, but I'm just worried, she already has so much to deal with already, and I don't want to hurt her even more. And she's already in love with Tamsin; I don't want to be the reason that their relationship ends. I saw Tamsin and Bo together they looked good together Kenz, right. And…" Lauren started to sob.

She was caught between doing what was right for Bo, doing what she should do, and doing what was right for her. She knew that Bo most likely wanted to rekindle their friendship, but Lauren so desperately wanted more, she wanted it all. She wanted what her dream had offered her, and yet she could not bring herself to try and fight for Bo, because in the long run it would only cause them both more pain. And Bo being human, that would only complicate things.

She felt a hand coming to rest on her should. "Lauren I'm going to say this once. Stop listening to that big brain of yours for once and start listening to your heart. You two are destined to be together, you know that. You also know that your relationship is cursed." Lauren started to protest. "I know you think its bullshit Lo but I did a little digging of my own. Did you know that in the last thousand years there has never been a fulfilled Artemis bond? One or both of the people always die, and it's rarely from natural causes Hotpants, its almost always from some sort of traumatic injury. Your species is cursed Lo. And I don't know why, nobody knows why. But I get the feeling that you two are destined for more, that you two will be the ones to break that trend. But Lauren, that involves fighting for Bo okay? But that also means taking care of you. You will need to be at your best, your healthiest, and that includes mentally. Because Bo? She's going to need you, she's standing on her own two feet, but that doesn't mean that she won't fall down from time to time, and if Tamsin is out of the picture, you are going to have to be the one to offer her a hand to help her up. So for now you need to forget about all of the bullshit, whether Bo is human or Fae, taken or not. You need to take the first step, and that means calling her."

Kenzie handed Lauren a cellphone. "Its mine. Her number is already programed. You just have to press call. Get to know each other again Lo, and start from there. The rest will work itself out. So give your brain a rest and let your heart navigate for a little while, okay?"

Lauren stared at Kenzie as she walked out of the room, leaving her to her thoughts. She sometimes forgot that her roommate was so much older than her. Despite acting her physical age of 20 most of the time Kenzie was actually decades older. She forgot how wise she could be at times. Lauren felt another sob getting caught in her throat, this entire situation was so messed up. It was all so messed up, and yet Kenzie was right. She needed to take the first step, because if she didn't, it would become a reoccurring cycle of guilt, sadness, and depression. A cycle that she had no desire to repeat. She would be there for Bo, for know that would have to be in the capacity of friendship, and as much as it hurt her, it was her best chance to move forward, for them to have a chance at a future.

Before she could change her mind Lauren pressed the call button and lifted the phone to her ear. She heard someone pick up on the other end. She took a quick breath and spoke into the phone "Hi Bo…"


	7. Chapter VI: Secrets in the Blood

**A/N: Hi here's another update. Sorry about yesterday's being so short. Anyways have fun with this one. And thank-you for all who left reviews, as well as favourited and followed. As usual all spelling and grammar errors are my fault. **

Bo sighed shifting closer to the warm body next to her. She heard someone whisper in her ear "Morning baby." The voice was familiar, but she couldn't place it. She smiled, the voice was soothing. She pressed a kiss to the collarbone, acknowledging that she was awake. Despite a bad day it had actually been a good night, she hadn't had any nightmares, her medication adjustments must have helped. She moved the loose collar of a pyjama shirt to the side and kissed the skin a little more, shifting onto the shoulder a little. She felt a hand come up to her hair and start to run fingers through it in loose soothing patters. She grumbled happily, shifting slightly so she could bury her face in the chest in front of her.

She felt warm, content, and to her mind an almost foreign concept. _Safe_. _Protected_ her mind also supplied. It was so nice feeling like this again. "You can go back to sleep baby, I'll be here when you wake up." She felt a nose nuzzling into her hair. She sighed happy, wanting nothing more then to go back to sleep, she felt so tired. She felt the arm curled around her waist tighten and the hand in her hair continuing to trace soothing patters. Normally she hated when she was held to tightly, the most common reason Tamsin did it was because it helped her to fall back asleep after her nightmares. But in these arms, she found she didn't mind so much. She was so tired; she was so warm, so content, so happy, so _complete_. The last one struck her as a little strange but she didn't really care. She was tired, so she decided to go back to sleep, letting out a content grumble and burrow closer to the warmth in front of her. She could feel a kiss being pressed into her hair.

As she drifted off again she noticed something. The body holding her was thinner than she was used to. The voice was a little richer, and the chest she was curled into was smaller. The overall body felt smaller, she could feel feet against her lower legs instead of pressed against her own. The body holding her was smaller and shorter then she was used to. She was finally able to place the voice. _Lauren. _She didn't really care at this point, the emotions she was experiencing were so calming and soothing she just wanted to stay in this moment forever. She could feel the arms around her tighten a little and pull her closer if that was possible, her head was being nuzzled again. This felt _right_. She could feel herself drifting off again, wondering if she would still feel this way when she woke up.

She blinked, opening her eyes. She was facing away from Tamsin, they must have moved overnight. She was being spooned to the older woman. It didn't feel the same as when she had been dreaming. She immediately the feelings that had been accompanying her dream, she had felt safe, and protected. Something that she was not feeling now. Had it truly been a dream? It had felt so real. She felt herself tearing up from the swirling of emotions. She found herself starting to cry silently. She tried to move, but she felt the arm around her waist tightening. She inadvertently let out a loud sob. She could feel Tamsin shifting, sitting her up and bringing her with her.

She felt fingers starting to run through her hair, Tamsin molding her front to Bo's back. "Shhh …it okay. Bo, what ever it is I'll be here. You know I'm not going anywhere. I was here when you got back, I'm here now, and I will be here tomorrow." Tamsin whispered in her ear.

That only caused Bo to cry harder. She didn't even know why she was crying, just that she felt so incredibly sad. She could feel Tamsin shifting her body, guiding Bo's head to rest on her shoulder. They had been through this so many times. "Shhh, Bo. Calm down. It's okay. Whatever it was, it was just a nightmare. I'm right here. Dyson's fine. Hale's fine too. Everybody's okay." It was rare that Tamsin actually comforted her after the nightmares; she didn't usually awaken a crying mess. Tears running down her face, yes. But those were usually from fear. Bo felt like she was crying from loss, from the loss of those feelings that the dream provided.

She felt a hand come up to run through her hair. She kept crying, it felt good to cry. She couldn't remember the last time that she had done it. Tamsin was starting to shift them again so that they were lying down, Bo directly on top of her. She felt Tamsin pulling herself up a little, and tugging Bo down slightly. She complied, moving down Tamsin's body. Eventually she settled against her chest and Tamsin just held her, one arm around her waist, the other holding her head to her chest.

"Do you hear my heartbeat baby? I'm still alive, I'm right here. You're here with me and it will be okay. I love you, I'm not going anywhere." Bo sighed internally, on the outside her sobs simply continued, Tamsin kept comforting her "Just let it out."

Tamsin hadn't done this in so long. The last time this had happened was after she had dreamed of loosing her shortly after she got back. She listened to Tamsin's heartbeat. Never mores so then in this moment was she thankful that her girlfriend was so amazing. Tamsin had been with her through every stage of her recovery, from the physical therapy because of the shrapnel injuries. The cognitive behavioural therapy for her PTSD, the medications, the nightmares, the flashbacks. Tamsin had been there for all of it, even asking her psychiatrist if there was anything she could do to help. Tamsin had been her support through all of it, although Dyson and his roommate Hale had been a big part of it too.

And yet she had dreamed about lying in Lauren's arms, she had felt so safe and happy. She was puzzled. Bo knew that she had not romantic feelings for Lauren, the closest they had ever been was best friends. Although they had gotten close very quickly, and at times she felt an almost mystical pull towards her. Bo could feel herself calming down. She was about to shift off of Tamsin when she felt the arms around her waist tighten. "It's okay, why don't we just lay here for a while." The hand that had previously been resting on her head began to tangle into her hair, much like Lauren had in the dream.

She felt a few more tears leaking out of her eyes. Tamsin must have noticed because she felt the hand in her hair still. "You're awfully teary today babe. Do you want to tell me what's wrong?" Bo moved up slightly, resting her head against Tamsin's shoulder and shaking her head.

She felt and heard Tamsin sigh. "I'll let you get away with it for now babe, but we'll have to talk later okay? I'm not going to ask what the nightmare was about, but you can tell me if you want to." That was odd. Tamsin usually prodded her. "I know I usually poke and prod, but you woke in tears this morning babe, so I'm a little more worried about you right now okay? We can talk in a little while, but for now just rest. And you're not heavy, you're perfect just where you are. So get a little more rest if you want to. You know I'll be here when you wake up."

Bo sighed and cuddled into her girlfriend. She wanted to get up and start pacing, it was something she did when she was tired or stressed, but Tamsin also knew that, and wouldn't let her get up for a little longer. She closed her eyes and nuzzled into Tamsin's neck, she felt warm and familiar against her body.

A half hour later she was awoken from quacking on the nightstand, her cellphone. She could feel someone shifting under her, Tamsin. Her memories came back, she felt slightly embarrassed at breaking down so badly in front of Tamsin. She tried to ask what was going on but it only came out as a half awake grumble.

"Hello?" she heard Tamsin answer the phone. She tried to shift, but she felt the arm around her waist tighten to keep her in place. "She's asleep blondie, and if you woke her up you'll be on the receiving end of a visit from a rather large Irish man." Blondie? Who could that be?

Lauren. Tamsin had given the blond medic that nickname yesterday after they walked away. She had been less then thrilled by the hug and the kiss on the check that she had given Lauren. Bo had just rolled her eyes used to Tamsin's somewhat overprotective attitude, she was only that way with people she saw as a threat, although it was more annoying then endearing, especially when it was with old friends.

"It's fine Tammy, can I have my cell phone please?" She decided to use an old nickname that she knew the blonde hated. "Whatever you want succubabe. I'm going to go start breakfast. Usual okay?" She was asked while Tamsin handed her cellphone over to her.

"Hi Lauren, sorry about Tamsin. She's rather cranky first thing in the morning." She heard a rough voice on the other end laugh a little. "She's certainly not a peoples person, or is that only with me?"

Bo laughed. "Don't feel bad she reacts that way to everybody. She takes a long time to warm up to strangers."

"I remember she wasn't to friendly the few times we interacted while you called her on Skype, either." Lauren laughed a little. Bo had forgotten how easy it was to laugh with Lauren; they had always been good at bouncing off of one and another. "Anyways, the reason that I was calling is I was wondering when was a good day for us to meet up. We have a lot of catching up to do don't we?"

Bo smiled happy to reunited with her old friend. "It's been two years, so yeah. I'm good to meet up anytime. I work as a P.I. but I'm taking a bit of time off right now." She heard a little laugh on the other end of the phone. "Of the many things you could have become, I did not expect a P.I."

"It's a long story. So…" Bo let the question hang in the air.

"I have to work today, but I may be able to sneak off for lunch. So do you want to meet at a restaurant near the lab I work at? I've been there before the food is really good. Can I text you the address?"

Bo responded into the phone "Sounds good Meddy." She used her old nickname for Lauren. She heard Lauren laugh on the other end of the phone. "I'll see you then Bo. Take care of yourself until then." She pressed the call end button on the phone. Bo could hear Tamsin calling her telling her that breakfast was ready. Bo stood up from the bed and let her phone fall back onto the bed.

"I'll be there in a second babe." She called back to Tamsin. She started to walk out the door and into the hallway of their apartment. She could smell eggs cooking, yummy. "Do you need any help?"

"I'm almost done here." Tamsin replied, seemingly content for the moment. "Could you get some plates down for us?" Bo nodded her head and reached up into the cabinet looking for their plates.

When she found them she pulled down two plates and set them near the stove. She moved to the breakfast bar and just sat down, she should find a way to thank Tamsin for what she had done for her lately. The past couple of days had not been easy on either of them but it was Tamsin who was staying up with her to all hours of the night, taking care of her. She sighed "Thank-you, so much, for all that you've done for me."

Bo could see Tamsin blinking at her surprised. She had been putting their scrambled eggs onto plates. "What brought this on?" Tamsin sounded genuinely confused.

Bo sighed and shook her head she honestly didn't know either. "I just feel like I should thank-you. You're always taking care of me, putting up with the flashbacks, the nightmares. Most people would have walked away."

She heard Tamsin sigh. She brought the two plates over and set one down in front of her and the other down in front of the bar stool. "Babe, we've known each other for how long? Twelve years? We've been dating for two of those years and we were roommates for eight years before that. I knew what I was getting into when you and I started dating. I was there for your 'succubus' period, the sexual attraction discovery, the 'Oh God am I in love with Dyson thing', your deployment, your coming home, your recovery, your diagnosis, and your therapy from that."

"If I wanted to walk away I would have done it a long time ago. You know I've loved you for a long time. That's not going to change because you're recovering from illness. It's hard at times, and I admit I'm frustrated at times, but I'm not going to leave because of that. We've been in each others lives for too long. And don't forget I see someone to help me with this too. You're not alone and you're not going to be left alone. You have a saviour complex that annoys the hell out of me. You're stubborn and always believe you're right, even when you're wrong. But I knew that before I got into this relationship. So tough luck." Tamsin smiled and kissed her cheek. Bo sighed. Tamsin was right, the dream must really be affecting her.

"Thank-you." Bo murmured and reached out to hug Tamsin for a moment. She was squeezed tightly in return. "So what did Blondie want?"

"I invited her to meet up for lunch to catch up. She was one of my best friends over there and I will admit that I've missed her, you and Dyson and Hale are great but she understand you know?" Bo sighed prepared for Tamsin's reaction. She saw Tamsin nod and smile. "I understand. I was just worried because yesterday you flashbacked while she was around. I know I can't protect you, but I still want to. But I understand, it's like how I sometimes need to hang out with Dyson and our buddies, because they understand what I go through."

Bo breathed a sigh of relief. She had thought Tamsin would understand if she explained it a little better. "What's on the agenda for you today?"

Tamsin smiled at Bo. "Just the usual work. Which reminds me that I need to get out of here." Bo saw Tamsin quickly lean over and peck her on the lips. "Have a good day babe. Call if you need anything. Don't forget to take your pills okay? And try and find a new client, please?"

Bo laughed at the last one. She had just gotten of the undercover case as a favour to Tamsin and Dyson. Tamsin had not been particularly happy, being concerned for her safety, although she knew that Bo could handle herself. She sighed, soon it would be back to spying for people who were thinking there husband was cheating on them. She hated those kinds of cases, but that's what payed and money was always good, and it would mean she couldn't take any dangerous missions, which would make Tamsin a little happier. She looked over at the clock it was 7:30 in the morning. She had a few hours to kill before lunch with Lauren. She decided to go check her emails.

Lauren was running around the room in a panic, after agreeing on the time of lunch with Bo she immediately realized that she was off for the day. Giving her plenty of time to think about everything that was happening.

The dream had stayed with her for so long. It had felt so right to have Bo in her arms. When she had made the call and Tamsin had answered she'd had to repress the urge to growl, the dream was still affecting her in some ways. She had a desperate yearning to see Bo, and to hold her in her arms. She longed for the sensations that the dream had brought to her. The cruel reminder that Bo had a girlfriend had brought reality crashing down for her. She had wanted to curl up into a ball and start crying again, or go out and find Bo and drag her back to her apartment.

She'd quickly dismissed both of those options however and had focused on the words Kenzie had said to her. That she need to take the first step, which had been to call Bo. She now needed to take the second step and meet Bo at that restaurant, and answer the questions she could. She also needed to get a blood sample from Bo. She needed to prove to herself that for sure Bo was human, that there was no chance that she was a Fae. She was hoping desperately that Bo was Fae because it would give them a better chance.

Lauren sighed internally. She was also not sure how to dress. She knew that Bo wouldn't care; it wasn't even really a date. It was just a friendly get together. She wished it was more. She stopped herself, pinning for what ifs would do her mental health no good.

Lauren found herself pacing staring at the clothing she had spread across her bed. Usually she didn't care much about how she looked, going for functional over stylish, but today she found herself never being happy with what she saw in the mirror. It was ridiculous, it wasn't even a date, and yet here she was acting like a teenage girl about to go out on a date for the first time.

Lauren sighed again. How was it possible for one woman to bring her this feeling of happiness and of giddiness one moment, and cause her crushing sadness the next. Bo was a paradox to her life.

Lauren after trying on more then a dozen outfits in various combinations was about to give up, when she caught the time. It was 11:00 and she needed to get to downtown. It wasn't far, but the restaurant was a good half hour and… had she remembered to text Bo the address? Oh god. She checked her phone and breathed a sigh of relief, she had.

This whole situation was still a little surreal to her. She could not believe that after two years of thinking her love was dead, she was still alive. And that she had run into her while she was out walking in the city. She almost expected to wake up from this dream to, if that happened… she didn't know what she would do. It would be so cruel.

She looked down at the outfit she had on. It was her typical work attire for this time of year, a plain coloured button down shirt, with black slacks. She quickly grabbed her brown leather jacket and decided that she looked fine. Lauren sighed. Why was she so concerned with how she looked! It was driving her a little crazy. Stupid Bo. Stupid love.

Lauren also thought of something else. She would need to collect a sample of Bo's DNA, her blood was preferable but a piece of hair would do in a pinch. She sighed and went to look for the blood draw kit she kept at home. Spotting it she quickly grabbed a purse and shoved it in. She also went and got a test tube from her home lab and poured in the Fae blood identifier that she had with her. She also grabbed a few swabs as well as another test tube for a bit of hair incase she couldn't get a bit of blood. Lauren wanted to shack her head at herself because she was once again obsessing over whether Bo was Fae or not.

She knew it wouldn't make a difference to her. Bo was Bo, the love of her life, well her only love really. But to Fae society it would mean the difference between upholding a sacred law or outright violating one… and why was she thinking about all of this she needed to get to the restaurant!

Lauren rushed out the door of the apartment leaving a rather mystified looking Kenzie starting at her. Lauren could hear her muttering something about Hotpants, dates, and nervous wrecks.

She found herself running down the street faster then should have been possible for a human. She quickly realized this and slowed down to a walking speed. She was so giddy, and yet her mind was berating her for her incredibly out of character and illogical behaviour.

She spent the next half an hour walking to her destination just looking around and marveling a little at the city around her, like she noticed yesterday everything seemed to be a little brighter, everything was a little happier.

When she had moved here after her deployment had ended she had taken in little of the city only walking back and forth between her lab and her home. She had been depressed during that time, mourning the loss of Bo, whom she had thought died. It wasn't until she had found Kenzie passed out drunk in an alley one day and brought her home that her life changed. The little Kitsune had turned out to be a rather big bundle of energy, constantly wanting to party, to get out, and to live and explore. She had started dragged Lauren out, got her to go someplace other then her lab or sit at home in her apartment. Within a few months the Kitsune had started to live with her on a more permanent basis and when had never really moved out, and Lauren had never seen a reason to ask Kenzie to leave. Lauren was sure that without Kenzie she may have ended up like some of her sisters who lost their mates, dead or in a mental health hospital. She knew it was not health to be wrapped up in one person, she had tried to get away, but she was bonded to Bo. Bo was her everything and her destruction.

Lauren shook her head. She needed to stop getting caught up in these memories. Perhaps it was time to consider seeing a councilor, or a pain eater. She needed to look after herself to.

Lauren had been so lost in thought that she hadn't noticed that she'd arrived at the restaurant. She glanced down at her watch. It was 11:45, she had arrived 15 minutes early. She rolled her eyes, of course. She tried to sit down and to wait patiently but she quickly found herself begging to pace. What if Bo didn't show up? What if she didn't want to be friends? What if…

Her thoughts stalled as she caught sight of the breathtaking brunette. She was dressed in a rather revealing top and tight leather pants, she was wearing a leather jacket over top. Lauren had to close her mouth fearing she might start drooling a little, Bo looked absolutely stunning. She saw Bo smile and begin to walk over to her. _Calm down _she told herself. Its just Bo.

"Hey Meddy." Bo sounded a little tired but happy to see her. Lauren let out a laugh. "Are you ever going to stop calling me that? I'm not really a medic anymore."

She heard Bo laugh again. "No…" Bo was starting to drift off a little her eyes were glazing over, oh please no. Not again. Please. She heard Bo muttering something to herself. Her eyes were quickly clearing. "Sorry about that…" Bo was trying to laugh it off. Make it no big deal. She wanted to rush over and comfort Bo, tell her that it was okay. She wished she could take away the pain, make her love feel better, but she couldn't. Instead she was the source.

"Lo, I'm fine. Seriously. I'm okay. Let's go have lunch. We have a lot of catching up to do. And there are a few things I need to ask you." Lauren nodded mutely. She would have to keep calm. She just wanted to tell Bo everything, the bond, the fact that they were the fact that she loved her. She wanted to reach out and hug Bo, to kiss her, to touch her. But she couldn't because Bo was with someone else. "Meddy? Lauren?'

"Come on space case. Let's go eat something okay?" Lauren nodded. She could feel a tugging, pulling her towards Bo, a desire to keep her safe, a desire to protect her. The bond must be starting to manifest.

They quickly entered the restaurant. It was noisy and crowded, the perfect place to have a conversation without risking being overheard. They were quickly seated into a booth. Lauren slide in on one side and Bo sat across from her. She wanted to reach out and hold Bo's hand. Lauren sighed internally, these thoughts had to stop.

Bo had apparently decided to skip the pleasantries and a serious look appeared on her face. "So you're Fae?"

Lauren nodded mutely. The next question she dreaded. She could tell Bo that it was none of her business, but she wanted to tell Bo, much more then she should. "That's really only my genus, not my species. I'm an Artemis."

Bo cocked her head to the side, face screwed up in though. She looked so cute like that. "As in the ancient Greek goddess of the hunt?" Lauren nodded mutely, before taking a deep breath and expanding upon her earlier statement. "Artemis are usually hunters. We have a natural predisposition for bow's and arrows. We have the ability to track any animal and hunt it down. We are also faster then most Fae and we have the ability to move without making a sound. We are also always born with a twin brother. Like in the myth when there is an Artemis there is always an Apollo. I don't know where my brother is, but I know he's alive. Artemis are also associated with the moon, we get stronger when its nighttime and its also the source of our power, what we feed from you could say."

She could see Bo nodding along, taking in the information she offered. She wasn't about to explain the bond to her, the fact that Artemis could only fall in love once. "Some of us are gifted obstetricians or midwives, able to bring any child into this world safely. Some are stuck as young girls, never to grow older, others will age at a rate of about 1 year for every 100 human. We are known for being ruthless, logical, cold, hunters."

Bo had an unreadable look on her face. Lauren was about to ask what was wrong when a sound rang out. It sounded like a gunshot. Within seconds there was a mass of panic. People fleeing every which way. It didn't take Lauren to realize what was happening. It was most likely a robbery, and from the glimpse she could see the robbers didn't appear to be human. Her instincts were screaming at her to protect Bo.

She for once did not ignore them. Quickly pulling Bo down and under the table, shifting herself in front of Bo. Ready to pounce at a moment's notice. She took a look at Bo, her eye's were glazed over. She was muttering something to herself. The gunshot. _Protect_, her mind screamed. She wanted to take Bo into her arms, to sooth her to bring her back, but now was neither the time nor the place.

She peeked up from under the table and saw the men looking around. One of them gestured to their table. She got up, growling. Her eyes must be glowing silver. She could feel her senses improve, her strength increase, her speed. It was time for the hunt.

She sprang out from underneath the table. She quickly ran towards one of the men, aiming to punch him in the stomach. She wished she had her bow and arrows with her, an Artemis was best as a ranged fighter, they were not designed for close combat, but nonetheless she was doing what biology demanded. She was protecting her mate from harm.

The punch did not connect. Instead her arm was grabbed. She quickly shifted her weight to her back leg and wrenched back her arm. The guy in front of her attempted to kick at her, she sprung back slightly before aiming a roundhouse kick to his head. He raised his arm to block her. She cursed silently.

She was a doctor, not a hand to hand combat specialist. That's when she noticed from the corner of her eye, her other opponent. She had made a rocky mistake keeping her eyes off one of her opponents. He pulled the trigger on the gun, she attempted to dodge, only to get hit in the back of the knee. She immediately felt a shooting pain go down her leg, so similar to two years ago.

She tried to stand only for her legs to buckle. So this was the curse? Was she really going to die here? She could feel tears starting to run down her cheeks. She had failed to protect Bo. She glanced at the table, but couldn't see the brunette.

One of the men came close to her. She curled up into a ball to protect her internal organs, he started to kick her back. She could feel the pain starting to radiate, she felt like she was going to pass out. _No _she had to save Bo!

Suddenly she felt the kicking stop. There was a growl. She looked up, Bo, who should have been partially catatonic under the table was holding a man by his neck and lifting him up. "You don't touch my mate." There was something wrong. Bo tossed the man across the restaurant, sending him crashing into tables. The voice didn't sound like just Bo's, it had multiple tones, multiple voices in it. Bo looked at the other man, and started growling as she approach him. "How dare you hurt her. How dare you hurt my mate." What was happening? Bo picked up the other man and then kicked him, it sent him sailing across the room. She looked over Bo's skin; it was glowing where her veins should be. Bo turned to her. Lauren caught a glimpse of her eyes. They were glowing an ethereal blue.


	8. Chapter VII: Hunter's Moon

**A/N: Well here we are another day another chapter. This ones a little bit on the short, sorry about that. Thank-you for the kind words in the reviews as well as the follows and favourites, they are greatly appreciated :D Constructive Criticism would be awesome and thank-you in advance. Sorry about Lauren in this chapter, she's an angst magnet is seems -_- As per usual all spelling and grammar errors are mine. **

Lauren stared up into the eyes of her mate. She had seen this once before, in Afghanistan, her eyes had been glowing that day. It had not been a trick of the light her eyes had been glowing. She stared in awe at the _person?_ Being in front of her.

"Lauren could feel her brain generating and discarding so many hypotheses. Fae? Human? What was going on? What had happened to Bo to make her react like she had two years ago? _You were in danger_ her brain supplied, and yet that did not make sense because Bo is human. Or she should have been human. She needed a sample of Bo's DNA, she needed to analyze it, find what could be triggering this. Find out what it meant for them.

She could see Bo's blue eyes; they were still the same shade, although they had started to pulse less. The glowing vein patterns on her arms were starting to fade. She could see Bo starting to shake, her legs were becoming unsteady, like she had use up all of her energy. She stood ignoring the pain in her leg, her mate was more important. She hobbled over to Bo as quickly as she could. She heard a growl. "Mate?"

Lauren felt herself nodding. "I'm right here Bo. I'm right here. It's safe. So come back. It's okay. Just come back to me? Please?" Lauren quickly hugged Bo to her as both Bo's knees started to buckle under them. She quickly lowered herself and Bo to the ground, adjusting them so that Bo was leaning against her and her good leg was out to the side, not bearing her weight.

She knew that they would only have to wait a little longer before the police arrived. She shifted herself slightly so that she was leaning against the side of the booth, she shifted her leg out from under her and let them flop out. The question now was did they stay and wait for the police to arrive or did they flee and hope that Lauren could carry Bo far enough to reach her apartment. She sighed knowing that she would most likely be unable to support Bo's weight and run fast enough for them to flee.

She smiled slightly, enjoying the feeling of Bo in her arms, even if it was under rather unfortunate circumstances. She felt much like she had in the dream, complete in a way she couldn't describe. She brought a hand up to Bo's hair, gently shifting the woman's head so that it rested on her shoulder. She ran her fingers through silky looks a few times before sighing. What did this mean?

Then she remembered something. She needed a hair sample. She hesitated, not wanting to do it without Bo's consent, but at the same time she was aching to know what her love was. Human or Fae? The question that could be answered from a single strand of hair, and yet wouldn't it be a violation of Bo's trust?

She decided that she needed to do this. The odds of Bo ever finding out were low. A side of her pointed out that this was a rather severe violation of Bo's trust, she hadn't asked for her DNA to be analyzed and Lauren technically had not medical reason to do this. She ignored the voice she had to know. It would save her sanity, she was about to reach for her bag, which had somehow remained intact through all of this when she heard a mumbling.

She looked down at the woman in her arms and nearly smacked herself. Was she really willing to risk what they could have to satisfy her curiosity? No, it was not, she remember the dream she had had and the feelings that had accompanied it. However another part of her mind pointed out that Bo would never know most likely. She sighed, torn. The better thing to do would be to ask Bo to give a DNA sample. However that would mean revealing what she had done, what she had said. Was she really ready for that? Or perhaps it would be better to tell a partial truth and ask her when she woke up.

Lauren sighed, so many courses of action, each of them had there benefits and consequences. The one that would most likely lead to both parties being hurt the least was a partial truth, but then again Bo hated being lied to. She continued to puzzle over her decision when she felt a shifting against her shoulder. She immediately brought her hand up to Bo's hair, running her hand through it in an attempting to soothe her.

Was Bo having a nightmare or was she waking up? She listened to Bo's breathing, waiting for any signs she was waking up. It remained even although slightly laboured. Lauren felt herself frowning, she wished there was something that she could do to make them both more comfortable but she couldn't move, and attempting to wake Bo up was less then likely to be a good idea at this point. She wished she had her medical supplies with her, if she could just treat the bullet wound she would be able to move them to her apartment. Apartment… Kenzie!

Lauren quickly reached into her purse, feeling around for her phone, only to realize that in the rush out the door she had forgotten it. Stupid, why had she been so nervous this morning, if she had been calmer, more logical and had followed a more normal morning routine perhaps she would not have forgotten her phone. Was it possible that Bo had her phone with her?

Lauren once again smacked herself, even if she did it was not like she knew the passcode, or even what it could possibly be. It would not be Bo's birthday the woman was not that stupid. Lauren sighed and smacked the floor next to her in frustration. She needed to get herself and Bo out of this situation before who knows what else comes after them. That thought made Lauren realize something, the curse. The curse on their bond. Research said the loves of the Artemis died of traumatic injuries. _Oh no. _Guns. No Artemis had fulfilled a bond in a thousand years. This was most likely why. Everything and anything bad that could happen to them would.

She could feel herself starting to panic and grow angry. Why couldn't she just be happy for once. Why couldn't things work. And Bo… was she responsible for that to? Was Bo being bonded to her responsible for becoming this blue eyed being? Oh god. What if she had changed Bo? Made her less than human?

She felt like crying. If she made Bo less than human, then would it truly be best for her to remain around Bo? It would be better for her to remove herself from the situation. Let Bo be human, have a normal lifespan. Let her be happy, whatever that looked like. The Artemis inside of her was screaming that it was not right. Bo was hers. She would protect her until Lauren's dying breath. But was it truly right for her to assume that they would, _could_, be together when everything was against her and Bo? Bo was with someone. Bo was triggered by her. All she did was cause Bo pain. Why couldn't things be simple?

She could feel her eyes misting over. Then she remember something 'If life was simple then would anything be worth fighting for?' She sighed she knew the answer already. No, if life was simple, if the circumstances were for them, there would be nothing preventing them, but at the same time would it have even been forth fighting for? Lauren had a feeling, that regardless of how there circumstances worked out in other lifetimes or alternate realities, they would always be drawn together. Even without the bond there was something magnetic about Bo, that attracted Lauren to her. Like Kenzie had said, she needed to let all of this go, she needed to focus on taking on step at a time. It was just hard sometimes when it felt like the world was against you. She tried to take a deep breath only for it to come out as a half choked sob.

She must have started crying. Then she felt Bo shifting in her arms. She looked down and saw something, which surprised her, unnerved her, yet it also calmed her at the same time. Bo's eyes were open, but they were stilled coloured the ethereal blue of before. "You're not Bo are you?" she murmured to the thing occupying her loves body. The creature in Bo's body shifted away from her shoulder and reached up, cupping her face. Lauren felt herself lean into the touch automatically.

"I am, and yet I am not. I am the consolidation of the power of blood locked into her being, and I am also human. I came before in different forms and I will come again. Her desire to protect you is what unleashed me. I am here and I will not vanish. I will protect my mate, and your love. I am the Hunter's Moon and I am also human, I am not Fae."

Lauren starred at the figure in front of her. What was a Hunter's Moon? And the consolidation of the power of blood locked into a human? What? "I see your mind whirling my love, calm. The answers will come to head in time. I am violent and protective. I will manifest when you are endangered, care for me for until I master who I am, my human self will not remember this moments." The being in her love leaned over and kissed her. "Remember what you've forgot, my love."

With a light kiss on the check she could see the colour in Bo's eyes fading back to their normal chocolate brown colour. Her mate slumped forward obviously unconscious again. Lauren quickly arranged Bo so that her head was resting once again on her shoulder. Lauren briefly nuzzled her cheek into Bo's hair, trying to calm herself and offer whatever comfort to her that she could. She tightened her grip around Bo, wishing there was a way that they could both lie down. She also needed to tend to her injury before it could get infected. However in this moment that was not her primarily concern. Her primary concern was the power that Bo had just demonstrated.

What had the thing? Creature? God? What had just possessed her love? Or was it a manifestation of her power taking over consciousness. It had called Lauren her mate, meaning it was aware of the bond. Something that Bo was not. Lauren could feel her mind whirling, running over and over the information that she had been told. Then one line that her love had spoken caught her attentions. "I am the consolidation of the power of blood."

Power of blood? It couldn't be. Was Bo descended from a blood sage? Lauren had thought there species died off millennia ago. Then Lauren remembered the old stories, about a king whose will, when written in his own blood would come true, the Blood King. He had disappeared centuries ago? So how? The old rumours of one of his descendants running off with a human.

However that was several centuries ago, well before her time. Any genetic information that would have passed along to the offspring should have become only trace fragments in the genetic code. Offering little to nothing in the way of protection. And yet it made sense. Bo had survived catastrophic injuries, which should have killed her. The powers that she had displayed.

Lauren heard a groaning coming from her shoulder. She tightened her arms around Bo and whispered in hear ear. "Shh, baby its okay. Just keep resting. Help will be here soon, but just rest until then my love. I'll figure this out I promise. I'm sorry." She pressed a kiss into Bo's temple. It felt so good to be able to do this. The Artemis portion of her was purring contently, knowing that her mate was with her, safe in her arms, protected. She heard another murmur, and felt Bo curl a little into her. Lauren wished that they could lie down so she could hold Bo better, but shifting them both was not an option with her leg. Not to mention that the floor was a veritable source of bacteria and viruses. She shuddered internally; her wound would most likely get infected if she didn't get off the floor soon. Her healing had already caused the bleeding to stop, but she did need to remove the bullet and clean out the wound properly. She also needed to check and see if the bone had been injured.

Lauren felt herself beginning to drift off. She hadn't realized how much the injury had taken out of her, how much using her powers had exhausted her. Lauren knew that she should not fall asleep, if she had lost to much blood it would mean a coma and death, and yet she couldn't bring herself to care. She was content, happy, and had her love in her arms. She felt herself passing out, noting with a slight scientific interest that there was not a huge puddle of blood around her leg. That was good, and bad. It meant she had most likely over exerted her powers, or she was going into shock and dying.


	9. Chapter VIII: Hidden Identities

**A/N: Hello all. Hope you had a good weekend and sorry about not updating sooner. Thank-you so much for all of the kind reviews you have left me, as well as the favourites and follows, they are much appreciated. :) Well this chapter is long and a little heavy on Tamsin, but some of you actually seem to like her so hopefully it goes well. Dyson also makes his first appearance in this chapter. I know, but being on 30 and not 1500 years old does wonders for the angst levels as well as agreeableness, and self awareness. As per usual all spelling and grammar errors are mine. And constructive critisism is always appreciated. **

"There's been a call. Two dead at a restaurant, and two more individuals found unconscious. Paramedics are on route and uniforms are tapping the place off." Dyson said aloud. Tamsin groaned, it was supposed to be a slow day, just processing paperwork. She had wanted to go home early to check on Bo, see how her lunch had gone with Blondie. "Let's go leprechaun."

She could almost feel Dyson's eye roll. "Why do you insist on calling me that?"

"Because your Irish and you bring me luck. You however do lack the pot of gold, but I'll be willing to wait on it."

She heard Dyson laugh a little. "Come on partner. And I'm driving." Tamsin growled, it was supposed to have been her turn. She sighed before standing up and following her partner out of their office, which looked like it had been decorated in the sixties and hadn't received an upgrade since.

They quickly exited the division headquarters and got into their rather nondescript car, which due to paradoxical logic actually made it stand out. Tamsin sighed; she had a feeling that this would be a complicated case. She quickly got into the passengers side and buckled up the seat belt, glancing over at Dyson she simply took in his profile for a moment.

He was tall, rather well muscled, brown hair, sharp jaw, curly hair, although a beard that would make a dwarf laugh at its failure. The kind of person she would have slept with before Bo. Tamsin sighed everything went back to Bo. She was the reason the two of them even knew each other to begin with. Bo had been her roommate when she transferred into university after finished Police Foundations at college. She had applied to Carleton University and gotten accepted into Criminology and Criminal Justice. Tamsin had to laugh at the memory of Bo, a Cognitive Science major, finding out about the Criminology and Criminal Justice program. Bo had gotten so excited and introduced her to Dyson.

Tamsin had to laugh now, she had hated both of them in the beginning. Bo for being so outgoing, excitable, a giant flirt, and a seeming idiot but she was also warm, selfless and cared about her friends more then anything in the world.

"Where did you go just know, partner?" Dyson asked her. "Just remembering when we first meet. How I hated both of you."

Dyson laughed. "Back then you used to call Bo a succubus. And you used to call me Wolf-Boy."

"You followed Bo around like a god damned lost puppy. Always looking at her with sad eyes, hoping she would give you the time of day. You were also so loyal to her, always defending her, you could never see any wrong in her. And you loved her."

Dyson grimaced a little. "I remember. It was a little pathetic, but I spent years pinning after her, thinking that if I waited long enough she would notice me. Pretending we could be friends when I wanted so much more. I thought it was romantic, but really all I was doing was setting myself up to be hurt, and setting up the possibility that our friendship could be ruined. I remember she used to sleep around with everyone, I never understood why always wishing it were me. Looking back it was sad and pathetic."

Tamsin glanced out the window at the greenery passing them by. "You loved her. You were the person she slept with. She became sexually attracted to you. I remember when I found out I moved out of place Bo and I were renting. I slept on the floor of a friend's house for a couple of nights before she found out and literally dragged me back to our place. She yelled at me that night, telling me I was her best friend. It crushed my heart."

"Because you were in love with her. I remember those times Tamsin, we were in a way competing for Bo, like she was a prize to be won. Although in the end, we each ironically got half of the so-called prize. I got to sleep with her because she was sexually attracted to me, but didn't love me. She didn't want it to be that way so she broke it off whatever it was quickly, she was never in love with me the way she loves you."

Tamsin laughed at little bitterly. "She and I still haven't had sex. She's not sexually attracted to me, she says that it may happen, but we've known each other for twelve years. If it was going to happen it most likely would have happened by now. But I love her, so much. You know she offered to open the relationship? To let me sleep with other people."

Dyson laughed. "That sounds like Bo."

Tamsin smiled. "It is her. She said we would talk about ground rules, but that she would try and be okay with it. That's huge for Bo you know? She values monogamy so much. But she said that she wasn't sexually attracted to me. She loves me, but has no desire to have sex with me. She loves me and knows that before her I was rather sexually active and she knew that I valued that. I turned her down, I love her to much to risk that part of our relationship. She explained that she wasn't going to sleep with someone she wasn't sexually attracted to because the succubus period? It hurt her a lot emotionally. She was in therapy for a while because of it. But it's hard to want her when she doesn't want me in the same way."

Dyson looked at her. "Why are we talking about this? Your girlfriend is fine. Are you guys having trouble? Are Bo's nightmares kicking up again?"

"I don't know for some reason my mind just started to drive down memory lane. I guess maybe because I'm thinking of proposing. We are as good a place as can be expected for the moment and you already know the answer to the last question. She woke up in tears this morning, as in blubbering mess, I wasn't sure if I'd be coming in today or seeing my psychologist and her psychiatrist. But other then the last few days, she's been doing so much better."

Dyson sighed. "We're here." Tamsin was about to get out of the car when she heard Dyson say "Wait a second Tamsin. You know I'm here if you ever need to talk, and that I'll be there for both of you. I'm your partner and Bo is a dear friend. And good luck with your proposal." Dyson said the last part with a wink to Tamsin.

Tamsin sighed and looked back at Dyson before smiling weakly and saying "I know and thank-you. I'm going to wait a little longer, but it seems like it will be a good time soon." She then unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door to the car.

She looked out at the road in front of her. It was a typical street lined with shops. Cars parked on both sides, a typical day for one of these streets. If it weren't for the commotion outside of the building you would never have known that something had happened. There were ambulances parked outside of the building, one was being loaded with a blonde woman, one of her legs partially uncovered, a bloody bandage wrapped around her leg, what looked like an IV line running to her arm.

Tamsin quickly whipped the emotions from her face; it was time for her to do her job. She quickly walked into the restaurant asking, "What do we…" Tamsin caught sight of the paramedics leaning over the other victims whom was lying on the ground obviously being prepared for transport. The paramedic shifted slightly and she caught sight of a face she looked at everyday. "Oh no… Bo!"

She rushed over to her girlfriend. "Ma'am I'm going to have to ask you to back off."

"What's wrong with her!" Tamsin was angry. She was starting to panic. The woman who lay on the ground in front of her was unconscious although she appeared to be otherwise unhurt. "Ma'am please. She's fine: Airway, Breathing, Circulation are all-stable. Her pulse is strong, C-spine is stable, no visible injuries, and her abdomen's not rigid." The paramedic paused for a second. "Who is she to you ma'am?"

"My girlfriend. I'm her emergency contact. Please." Tamsin was feeling rather of kilter. She had a job to do but in this moment she was to hysterical to do her job, her girlfriend was lying on the floor unconscious for seemingly no reason. Her gaze shifted over to the floor. "I saw the second victim being loaded into the ambulance. What happened to her?"

"Found unconscious leaning against the booth, actually had this one sitting sideways between her legs, head resting against her shoulder. Most likely will be treated for the wound and will be discharged once she regains consciousness, assuming of course that she doesn't develop an infection, we have no idea how long they were on this floor."

Tamsin saw the paramedic bringing in another stretcher."We are going to take, Bo you said her name was? To the hospital, there's a chance of concussion or hemorrhaging." The paramedic told her, as Bo was loaded onto a stretcher.

Tamsin was torn she had a job to do, but she wanted to go with Bo, be with her when she wakes up. She saw Dyson walk over. "Victims are two males in there early twenties. Preliminary evidence suggests that they both tied of blunt force trauma to the head. We have no idea what happened but there have been several bullet holes, as well as casings found throughout the establishment."

"One of the unconscious victims has a gunshot wound. Possible assault. But the other one is Bo, I'm going to take the squad car and follow her all right? They're concerned because she's unconscious. So they're taking her to the hospital. She's not going to be happy when she wakes up." Tamsin was concerned but she couldn't afford to show her emotions in public.

"Do they know what's wrong?" Tamsin shook her head. Tamsin looked up and she saw Dyson smiling. "Go be with Bo. She's not going to be happy if she wakes up in a hospital without a familiar face."

Tamsin laughed a little, she felt sad. Her girlfriend was going to the hospital again. Tamsin sighed; with any luck it would simply be a trip to the emergency room and she could bring Bo home. If she tried to focus on her work she would more then likely only get distracted. Tamsin sighed, why did disaster seem to follow Bo around?

Tamsin rolled her eyes and smiled a little in fondness. Bo was a trouble magnet, a disaster magnet at times, and yet she loved her anyways. Tamsin sighed getting into the squad car, preparing to drive to the hospital again. Tamsin sighed muttering to herself, "Bo you idiot." She was worried, but she didn't want to admit it. Someone would also have to interview the other victim, the blonde haired woman. It couldn't have been. The blonde haired woman, they had found Bo in her lap. Tamsin felt herself growling a little. The blonde was likely Lauren, but then Tamsin thought of something, if Bo had been found in Lauren's lap could that have meant that she had saved Bo? Or had Bo defended the blonde to the point of injury?

Tamsin growled again. Bo's saviour complex. When would the woman learn that trying to put herself in danger for others while heroic was also monumentally stupid. Tamsin sighed and started up the car. Then she smacked herself, she had forgotten to find out which hospital they were taking Bo to. She quickly deduced that the General campus was closer to the area the restaurant was in, making it that they had most likely taken Bo there.

Tamsin buckled up and put the key into the ignition. Was it a good idea for her to not bring Dyson with her? He would most likely be distracted with worry, even if he didn't show it. Tamsin sighed and quickly undid her seatbelt and got out of the car. She ran back into the restaurant very briefly, careful not to contaminate the crime scene. "Come on Leprechaun" she called out. "You're just going to mess up without my superior skills. So instead of contaminating a crime scene you're going to sit in an ER with me."

Dyson frowned slightly and then smiled slightly. Tamsin sighed a little, her partner knew her to well. She and Dyson quickly made there way out to the parking lot again. "It's going to be okay." He said gently, as he took the keys.

"I'm not worried." Tamsin snapped back at him. She noticed the keys were gone from her hand "Hey I can drive. Would you stop with the macho protective bullshit."

"Tamsin you're snapping at me for no reason." Dyson sighed a loud before adding "You're worried about your girlfriend, it's understandable." Tamsin grumbled a little. She saw Dyson smirk.

"Wipe the smirk off the face before I peel it off." Dyson just laughed. Tamsin sighed, she knew he was well aware that she didn't mean what she was saying. He was likely just trying to lighten the mood.

She sighed, had it really just been this morning that she had been holding Bo? Gah! Why was she treating this like Bo had some catastrophic injury, she most likely had a concussion from banging her head against a wall at some point during the whatever had happened. Tamsin sighed internally; she knew why she was panicking Bo's injuries from two years ago, when she had gotten the call.

She was remembering that day she had gotten the call saying Bo was coming back from Afghanistan. The one that told her there was a chance she would never wake-up, or that she would loose a limb, or that she would never regain full use of her limbs again. Tamsin knew it wouldn't be like that this time, but she just couldn't shake the feeling that something bad had happened to hurt her girlfriend.

They arrived at the hospital in record time mostly thanks to Dyson speeding like a madman. Tamsin was up and out of the car in record time she dashed through the main entrance like a madwoman, looking around and attempting to find the sign for the E.R. Dyson walked in behind her a few moments later. He silently taped her on the shoulder and pointed at a sign. Tamsin grabbed his hand and started to drag him in the direction of the E.R.

When they reached the admissions desk they were greeted by a rather unfriendly looking nurse. Tamsin was about to burst with panic by this point. "My girlfriend was brought in here a little while ago by ambulance. She's brunette goes by the name of Bo Dennis?"

The nurse sighed. "Honey, we've had three accidents and two shootings in the past hour. I can't keep track of everyone, can you please be more specific."

Tamsin wanted to reach out and throttle the woman. She heard Dyson pipe in "Please excuse my partner, she's a little panicked. The woman brought in would have been a brunette with no visible injuries; I believe they wanted to check her for possible mild head trauma."

The nurse glanced up. "Bay Three. Just around the corner, try not to make a fuss please." Tamsin dashed off before the nurse could even finish what she was going to say. When she got into the room Tamsin saw Bo was settled into the bed, she looked so much like she was sleeping.

Tamsin could feel tears running down her face. She walked over to the bed and sat down in the chair next to it. She grabbed Bo's hand and brought it up to her mouth to kiss it. "You idiot. Why do you always have to get yourself into trouble. Because then I always come running and you make me worry. You're an idiot, but I guess you're my idiot aren't you?"

She didn't get a response. Tamsin hadn't expected one, she just kissed the back of Bo's hand again and reached over with her other one to caress Bo's check. "Wake up soon babe, please." She started to cry again.

Lauren looked around blinking. Why was it so bright? It smelt like antiseptic, made her nose twitch. The scent was overpowering, had she activated her powers recently? _BO! _It all came rushing back, the activation of the curse, the activation of her powers for the first time in years, Bo's powers, what had it called them? The Hunter's Moon and her _blood power? _She needed to come up with a better name for the later. She groaned and buried her head in the pillow behind her.

She heard a shuffling to her right. "Hey Hotpants. You awake?" Lauren blinked open her eyes and shifted her head to the right slightly, everything felt sore. She must have overused her powers, she wasn't really trained to use them to begin with because her parents hadn't really understood what she was.

"Hey Kenz." Her voice sounded rough. How long had she been unconscious? Had she undergone surgery to remove the bullet? That would imply there had been muscle or bone damage. She opened her eyes again. It hurt, her vision was still so sharp and the artificial lights were so bright. How long did it take for the heightened state to wear off? She groaned she couldn't remember. "What happened to Bo?"

"Don't know Hotpants but I'm going to go get your Doc. Please try and stay Dr. Coolpants, we don't need an Artemis power surge here."

Her slow though process caught up to her. The Artemis portion of her growled where was her mate! The last thing she remembered was Bo being in her arms, where she would be safe. She growled. Whoever had brought them here had separated them they would pay. Lauren sat up growling. She heard a shuffling and turned her head to the door. She saw Kenzie and a doctor walking in. Kenzie must have caught her eye because she suddenly started to speak. "Ahhh Doc. Can you and I talk outside for a second. I have some question before I take the Doc, not you, home. Like what's gonna happen with all her meds. I don't want to accidently mix them up and make her a drug addict or something."

She heard the doctor saying starting to protest indignantly as the Kitsune dragged him out of the room with her strength. She looked over and caught herself in the reflection of a nearby mirror. Her eyes were glowing a bright silver. Lauren sighed, she needed to control the more primal part of herself or else she would risk giving the Fae away. She shifted herself into a sitting position and looked around. She was in an E.R. bed, they must have been waiting for her to wake-up. She looked over and noticed that there was a clear bag attached to an I.V. pole, she followed a clear plastic tube which terminated at a needle in her wrist.

Lauren groaned, why did they always put I.V.s in her wrist. She shifted her wrist slightly and felt the needle shift in her. She shuddered, the next time she gave a patient an I.V. she was giving it in the elbow. Lauren shook her head, she must have been given a mild opioid pain killer her thoughts were rather random and jumbled. She mumbled. "Kenzie you can come in." Knowing that the Kitsune would hear her.

"Ahh thanks Doc. Imma just go pick up her prescriptions. Can yah get her some crutches? The last time she had an injury like this she was hobbling around the apartment looking like a sad puppy from one of those YouTube videos." She saw the doctor give Kenzie a rather incredulous look.

"Hello Dr. Lewis. I'm Dr. McKinnon. I just need to examine the injury briefly. Then we'll have a nurse come in with the discharge paperwork and to unhook you from the I.V. we can also give you're friend? Brought you some new pants to wear home."

The doctor asked her to turn over and quickly examine the injury. Lauren caught sight of it for the bullet wound properly for the first time. It was relatively small; they must have retrieved the bullet and then stitched the wound shut. It looked like it was healing at a decent rate; she would probably have to remove the stitches sometime the following afternoon.

"You're doing remarkably well for someone who got shot in the leg and lost as much blood as you did. You're friend said you we're a Jehovah's witness. Is that true?"

Lauren laughed internally. A brilliant excuse Kenzie. She could never have taken a transfusion of human blood, her body would simply have attacked the cells, but by lying about it the E.R. would simply have used volume replacement, although her blood cells should be mostly regenerated by now. "Yes. I have a medical degree, but my calling is with god." She was laughing inside. It was rather funny to see the uncomfortable look on the doctor's face. Oh what kind of drugs had they given her? This was so out of character for her.

She heard Kenzie come barreling back into the room carrying a white paper bag in her mouth and a crutch in either hand. What? Oh good grief. Kenzie and her need to have another talk about the young woman's kleptomania. Lauren shook her head a fond smile crossing her face. If Bo was here with her it would be a perfect moment. Her prescriptions, she hoped they had given her some antibiotics, her immune system was good but she didn't know how long she had spent on the floor and what could have invaded the wound. Lauren took a glance up at the doctor's face, the look on her face was almost comical. She was just staring at the young woman in disbelief a moment later she cleared her throat and told Lauren that everything appeared to be in order.

She was very shortly afterwards visited by a nurse with the discharge paperwork for her to sign and to detach her I.V. She was given strict instructions to take all of her medications and to use the crutches until her leg healed. As Lauren "walked" her way out of the E.R. she heard a little laugh. She glared at Kenzie; the young Kitsune had a mischievous twinkle in her eye. Artemis were known for being good on there feet but put them on crutches and they became stumbling messes.

Kenzie gave her a pointed look and told her "Sit your but down on that bench while I go and bring my baby around." Kenzie had a car. Had she stolen it? Lauren groaned. Moments later she saw Kenzie pull up in what to Lauren's relief was her car. She fumbled her way over to the car, Kenzie getting out to help her stow the crutches. Lauren sat down in the car and sighed heavily, her mind turning towards Bo.

She hoped her mate was okay. She was still attempting to process what had happened a… how long had it been? She wanted to glance down at her watch but she realized that she wasn't wearing it. Someone must have… "Kenzie give me back my watch."

She saw Kenzie glance over at her and laugh. "Caught me Hotpants. I have it in my bag, I'll give it back when we get home okay?"

She saw Kenzie glance at her while keeping her eyes on the road. "So what happened to you this time?"


	10. Chapter IX: Playing With Fire

**A/N: Thank-you for all of the kind words in your reviews. They are much appreciated. Thank-you as well for all the favourites and follows. I just want to say an extra special thank-you to .79 and cheekymadom who have been with this story since the beginning and your kind words are greatly appreciated. As per usual all spelling and grammar errors are mine. Enjoy angsty Lauren -_- **

"So let me get this straight. You and BoBo got attacked by two giant guys who were wielding guns. You accessed your powers despite not having feed in nearly a month and barely knowing how to use them. Despite all of this you got Elmer Fudded by the Bugs. Bugs turned malicious and you proceeded to get your butt kicked, literally, and then BoBo, the weak human BoBo, went blue-eyed…something on them. The thing then passed out and woke up a little while later and told you that it was your Hunter's Moon and that it was the consolidation of the power of blood?"

Lauren nodded; they had arrived back at their apartment after Lauren had begged Kenzie to give her a little time to gather her thoughts. Although she was caught for a second "It didn't say that it was my Hunter's Moon, just that it was the Hunter's Moon, although it could be mine. I don't know. I need to do so much more reading." Lauren felt brought a hand to run up through her hair.

Kenzie had rolled her eyes and said that she would. It was in that moment that it had hit her what happened, she had seen Bo become something that was more then? Or less then human. And it was more then likely her fault. She had started to cry in that moment, silently. Lauren had started to beat herself up a little mentally, why was she crying so much? The answer was obvious, it was because she had meet Bo again, the woman who within the span of 24 hours had turned her life upside down.

Kenzie was brought back to present by Kenzie calling "Hotpants, get your Spacepants back into this room." Lauren sighed a little she was so tired. She needed to take some time to process, to find out what exactly was meant by the Hunter's Moon, in all of her readings on Artemis and their mating bonds she had never heard of the Hunter's Moon, it was all so surreal. She had read about the length's an Artemis would go to in order to protect their mates, but she had never heard of How much of the blue-eyed being had been Bo's activated power from her descent from the Blood King and how much was this Hunter's Moon? She needed to do research but she didn't even know where to start. She would need to see if she could find the journals of any Artemis who had meet there mate.

Linguistically speaking if she were to break down the title the Hunter was most likely a reference to her, it was an older title often given to her species. The Moon was likely a reference to her love, although she had to question what the use of Moon meant. To her the Moon could mean the light, as in the light of her life, or it could mean that somehow the mate was a reflection of the Hunter, as the moon reflected the sun's light. That would perhaps explain Bo's increase in speed, but not the increase in strength, nor the eyes glowing blue, nor the pulsing veins, nor the almost different being in her love. There was also another meaning to her, the moon was also her source of power, she got stronger around it, that she feed off of it. Was that meant to mean that Bo was some kind of amplifier?

Lauren sighed, she had no idea where to start looking, where she could even potentially get an archived journal. She didn't know where to look, she also had no contact with other Artemis, Lauren was actually fairly sure that she was the only Artemis in the country. Artemis were rare, Artemis who meet their loves were rarer, Lauren had been lucky. She snorted, could the situation she really found herself in right know be considered luck? It was full of more heartbreak and tears then she had shed in the last two years.

"Lauren. Stop. Sleep. We will do this in the morning." Lauren's head shot up slightly. Kenzie was essentially ordering her to bed again wasn't she? Lauren laughed a little, she stood up from the couch reaching for the crutches at her side, she needed to talk to the young woman about her kleptomania, but she could worry about that in the morning. Lauren would also need to tell Kenzie to return the crutches from wherever she got them from, or who she got them from. Unbidden an image of the Kitsune came to her head of an angry old man yelling as he was sitting on the floor as Kenzie ran away like the Road Runner. She nearly burst out laughing, shaking her head. She hoped that Kenzie had stolen them from the pharmacy and not some poor soul who needed them to get around.

She caught a flash of brown on her way out. For a moment she though it was Bo, but she quickly realized that it was one of Kenzie's wigs. She whimpered a little. Lauren was worried about Bo, she hadn't been able to check on her, and there bond didn't include the ability to feel each other, at least not yet. She should call and check on Bo, make sure that she was okay, not in pain. Who knows what side effects the blue-eyed creature could have on her love.

Lauren felt the scientist in her becoming curious about what the possible side effects were, Bo had been far stronger and faster then she should have been. It could be considered the equivalent of an adrenaline rush in humans, however they often walked away with tears and other damage to the muscle. Lauren felt herself frowning, she still didn't know the extent of Bo's injuries from Afghanistan, the extent to which the theoretical muscle damage could cause. Bo could wake up in a world of pain and she wouldn't be there to comfort her. The Artemis portion of her was whimpering, thinking that her mate was in pain and without her. Gah! Lauren wished that Bo would stop occupying so much of her thought process it made it so hard for her to think. However her heart reminded her that whether she liked it or not Bo had become a very high priority in her life.

Lauren sighed again and continued to slowly cross the room, she was intently focused on the steps of moving with the crutches. Crutches out, take step to come into line with them, and repeat. Don't lean on crutches or else you could damage the axial nerve under the axilla… Lauren sighed. She wanted to be with Bo, she wanted to call her, if she was already like this she hated to see what would happen if, no _when_, they finally got together. _Stop thinking about the future _Lauren told herself, although it was hard, she needed to focus on the present, getting to know Bo again.

Bo… Lauren sighed. She wanted to check in on the woman, however she didn't have any way of contacting her. Lauren didn't have her number specifically. Kenzie did though. Before she could stop herself she called out. "Kenz! Can I borrow your phone for a minute?"

She heard Kenzie come out of her room holding something. She could see the young Kitsune smirking. "I thought you might want to call your lady love. But first you get your ass into bed." Lauren laughed. "Give me a minute Kenzie, I need to get changed."

Attempting to gather her things while keeping her weight off her injured knee was an interesting experience. Lauren eventually just ended up throwing her pyjamas on her bed, resolving to get changed while lying down. She quickly hobbled over to her bed, leaning the crutches against the wall in case she needed them during the night. Sitting down on the bed she began to undress, quickly pulling of her shirt and bra and slipping her pyjama shirt on.

Lauren then lay back shifting to lie down, she quickly wrestled her pants off and after some maneuvering managed to pull her pyjama pants on, careful to pull the fabric gently over the bullet wound. After she was finished dressing she pulled the leg of her pyjamas up briefly and turned her leg to the side, the gauze pad that was taped over the bullet wound did not appear to have much blood soaked into it. That was a good sign, the bleeding had slowed to a stop by this point most likely, her red blood cells should have replaced themselves by know. She would only need to take the antibiotics and examine the wound in the morning, the stitches would most likely need to come out by late tomorrow evening.

Lauren sighed, she would have to head into work tomorrow, thankfully most of the work she would be doing could be done sitting, so long as she adjusted the stool appropriately, or perhaps she should call in sick… Lauren sighed, she would have to see how the wound was in the morning, it thankfully hadn't shatter her knee this time, so it shouldn't take to long to recover…

She was broken from her thoughts by a knock on the door. "You dressed?" she heard Kenzie ask from the other side of the door. "I'm descent Kenz." Lauren called back. She heard the door open. Kenzie was holding her cellphone in one hand, a pill bottle in the other. They must be her antibiotics. She saw Kenzie cross the room and set the pills on her nightstand and silently hand over her cellphone.

She saw Kenzie sit down on the edge of the bed, a silent show of support. She quickly pressed the call button under Bo's name. She brought the phone to her ear and waited for someone to pick it up. By the fifth ring and nobody had picked up Lauren began to worry. The call reached voicemail; she started to panic a little internally. Logically she knew that there was no reason for Bo or Tamsin to pick-up the phone, it could have easily been forgotten when they were transported to the hospital, or at least Lauren assumed that Bo had been transported to the hospital. It was possible that Bo had simply forgotten to charge it and because of that the battery had died, or so many other possibilities. The smaller and more irrational part of her said that Bo was ignoring her call because she blamed Lauren for what happened, Lauren knew it was illogical but she couldn't help but think it, she was the one who had suggested the restaurant, that they should meet for lunch. Lauren shook her head, it was completely illogical for her to assume that.

The Artemis in her was screaming in rage, she should never have been separated from her mate to begin with. Then she thought about the curse, what if something else had gone after Bo and she wasn't there to defend her love? If Bo got hurt because she wasn't around. She shook her head. She should have remained with Bo. Lauren sighed, she felt like her thoughts and feelings were being pulled in so many different directions. She needed to get some sleep, allow her thoughts to organize themselves; she would be able to think better in the morning.

Lauren handed Kenzie her phone back shaking her head silently. Her roommate nodded and squeezed her leg in silent support. Lauren decided that she would try and call Bo again in the morning. She saw Kenzie stand up and leave the room, stopping for a moment to open Lauren's curtains. "Thank-you, Kenz. For everything." She saw Kenzie flash her a smile before closing the door to her bedroom.

Lauren sighed briefly before rolling onto her side, reaching to pull the thick beige comforter and pale blue sheets down on her left side. She shifted back slightly, angling herself in such a way that she could slip under the covers with minimal disturbance to her leg. She quickly pulled them up and over her, settling onto her side and resting her head on the pillow and curling into herself slightly. It was these quieter moments that Lauren wished she could reach out and hold Bo, know that her love was safe in her arms.

Lauren sighed and curled into herself a little further wincing slightly as the gauze pad over her wound got tugged slightly. She sighed and shifted her head a little to look at the moon. Lauren rolled onto her back and reached a hand out and turned off her bedside lamp, which she must have left on in her rush to leave this morning. Brining her hand back down to her to stretched it slightly before brining her hand under the pillow next to her and curling up facing the inside of the bed. She lay on her side, her other hand stretched out as if she was holding someone. _Bo…_ she sighed a little sadly. She could feel her Artemis whining slightly, no doubt wishing for physical proximity to her mate.

She had heard of the yearning in the mating bonds, but she had never expected it to be this bad. Her Fae was ruling her wants and desires, her heart was winning over her mind, at times she barely recognized herself. Lauren felt herself shifting slightly, curling in on herself a little. She hated being this pinning mess, and yet this is what she had become. Lauren shook her head, she was tired for her day, emotionally exhausted from seeing Bo again and witnessing the events in the restaurant, as well as being physically wounded. She was in no position to be thinking about deep thoughts, she needed to rest, get a good, hopefully dreamless nights sleep and start over again in the morning. She could come up with a plan of action then.

Lauren could feel her eyes growing heavier her muscles beginning to relax, and a heaviness to settle into her limbs. She allowed her eyes to close, causing her to drift off into a deep slumber.

Lauren blinked open her eyes, she was standing upright in the middle of a grassy plain. She looked around, there was nothing but gently rolling hills of green as far as her eyes could see. It was dark out but not pitch black, it was actually abnormally bright. She looked up gasping in awe. She could see the Milky Way, something she only saw a few times in her life, and there were thousands of other stars on top of that, all illuminating the sky in a breathtaking collage that was rarely seen in person anymore. She also noticed another, brighter source of light, it was a full moon. It was bright and closer to the Earth, looking like a Harvest Moon it was a beautiful sight to see.

Lauren could feel herself getting stronger, the moonlight providing her with energy she had not known she had. She felt a gentle breeze pushing the hair off her face, she could also see billowing white fabric. She was no longer wearing her cotton pyjamas pants and long sleeved shirt. She looked down and noticed that she was wearing a beautiful white tunic, which stopped just below her knees. It was held in place by a thin belt made of a strong rope. She also noticed a thin cord and a thicker leather strap running from her shoulder across her chest and down to her hip before looping up again. . She recognized the appearance; she was wearing a bow and quiver. When she shifted slightly she caught sight of her feet, on them were what she assumed to be leather sandals wrapped in leather thongs, which ran in a crisscross pattern up just past her ankles. She looked down at her right hand; it was wrapped in thick leather, what looked to be black in colour. She was dressed as her species had been in ancient times.

Lauren simply stood still for a moment, taking in her surroundings; they were beautiful, if a little surreal. She felt the breeze blow again, it was warm, and the ambient temperature outside was cool but comfortable. It felt almost as if it was a dream, she shook her head sadly, surely it must be.

She noticed a hint of movement out of the corner of her eye. Lauren immediately reached for the an arrow from the quiver and to lift the bow off of her back when she caught a better look at the creature. It was a silver doe, a rather odd thing given that it was impossible for a doe to be silver, however Lauren felt compelled not to question it. The doe started to move; Lauren almost as if compelled by some unknown force began to follow it.

Lauren began to follow it when she noticed that she was treading silently, as if she were on the hunt for her pray. Her powers must be active, that would explain how she could see so well, her eyes must be glowing silver. Her mind began to formulate the best method to capture the doe if need be. So lost in thought was she about hunting that she failed to notice that they had reached a structure.

Lauren stopped and stared at the structure for a moment it was beautiful. A circle of fluted marble columns rose from what appeared to be a solid marble base. They ended in in beautifully decorated column capitals of leaves and vines, and yet they were supporting no roof, it was simply an open sky. She noticed a bench was perched in the middle of the almost gazebo like structure. The bench was occupied with a lone figure, what appeared to be brown hair cascading down the persons back. She silently walked around until she could catch the profile of the person sitting on the bench.

The person must have heard her because she saw the person shift, standing up and turning to face her. It was Bo. Lauren found herself staring in awe at the woman in front of her, she was dressed in a long white dress going to her ankle, held in place at her waist by a thin belt of rope much as hers had been. The belt made folds appear in the fabric of the top portion, which hinted at her figure, but actually revealed very little. From Bo's side hung what appeared to be a short scabbard with a sword sheathed in it. Draped across Bo's front much in the way her quiver was leather carrying strap for a shield. She looked beautiful and deadly, and oh so sexy.

She started to walk toward Bo, suddenly desperate to embrace her love. She saw a look of confusion pass over Bo's face, which was partially visible in the moonlight, before recognition appeared in her eyes. She saw a dazzling smiling cross Bo's face, a look she'd seen a few times before, directed at Tamsin. She could feel her insides melting with joy, there was a look of love her mate's eyes that had not been there before. She ran the final few steps, she felt like shouting for joy, and yet she did not understand. If this was a dream it would be a nightmare to wake-up in the world. Lauren felt arms wrap around her waist, shifting the quiver slightly. "Calm your mind my love." Was whispered into her ear in a soothing tone.

She reached her arms out and wrapped her own arms around Bo's waist, pulling the other woman as close as she could get, almost as if Lauren was attempting to merge their bodies. She buried her face in the crook of Bo's neck, breathing in her scent, she smelled like vanilla. However the smell also brought to mind other thoughts, completeness, home, comfort, and happiness. She could feel herself starting to tear up, she would once again be deprived of this feeling when she woke-up.

That thought brought a rush of tears; she let out a half chocked sob. She could feel Bo pulling away slightly, she wanted to draw her closer but Lauren couldn't bring herself to. The thought that her mate wanted to pull away more simply caused a fresh number of tears to come cascading down her face. She felt a thumb come up and brush away some of the tears. "What's wrong baby?"

The term of endearment simply caused Lauren to start to sob in earnest, the stress of the last few days coming to head. Finding out Bo was alive again, running into her, finding out that Lauren's own voice was one of her triggers, the dream and the emotions it brought, the activation and finding out first hand what the curse meant, it was all to much. Lauren simply started to sob in earnest, she felt Bo pull back a little more, she wanted to reach out and hug her love, to remind Lauren that she was there.

"Lauren, what's the matter?" Lauren didn't answer, she could feel herself being guided towards something. Eventually she felt her knees hit the back of a bench with a bit of urging she sat down. Lauren tried to take a deep breath, to stem the flow of the tears, to bring back some kind of rationality to her brain, but all she knew was that in this moment she wanted Bo. She heard a little bit of shifting, felt someone coaxing her to lift her arms. She felt the bow and quiver of arrows being lifted off her back. This caused Lauren to start to sob again, if this what it was like to be with Bo then it would be torture returning to the real world where the other woman was not with her.

She could hear more rustling, most likely Bo taking off her scabbard and shield. Then she felt a warm presence next to her, someone reaching out and taking her hand. "What's the matter Meddy? You're not usually the crying type."

Bo's voice sounded concerned. This caused Lauren to start crying harder. She managed to choke out "Can you please just hold me for a while?" She immediately felt arms wrap around her and a hand on her head guiding it to rest against Bo's shoulder. She felt kisses being pressed to her temple and a hand running through her hair, the occasional "Shhh" being whispered into her ear.

Lauren wasn't sure how long they remained in that position for, her crying her eyes out and Bo attempting to comfort her. Eventually Lauren's sobs turned into hiccups and her tears started to slow. Lauren shifted, pulling back. "I'm sorry Bo…"

Before Lauren could finish what she was going to say Bo cut her off. "I'm your mate Meddy. Comforting your crying mate is kind of part of the job description isn't it? I'm more wondering what has you in tears like that, baby. Your not really one for the water works. So what's got you so worked up?"

"The stress of the past few days, they've been really hard on me, particularly emotionally. I'm sorry for becoming a blubbering mess. It's just been hard. Why am I telling you this? This is just a dream." Lauren murmured. She felt Bo pull her close

"Ah. The start is always the worst. It gets better love." She could feel a kiss pressed to her forehead. "I will fall in love with you, I'll be a stubborn ass, but I will fall for you. Just be patient, give me time and support. I know how hard the start is but it gets better. We will be happy."

Lauren gave a sad laugh. "Your sweet, but your also a figment of my imagination, this is my brain trying to sort information and reinforce synapses. Its just giving me a crazy dream." Lauren felt herself being tugged towards the woman in front of her, a kiss being pressed to her temple.

"I love you Dr. Lewis but let your big brain rest. Not everything can be explained by science." She felt another wave of tears hit her. Bo was being so sweet, so caring, and for once in her life Lauren felt loved and taken care of, a reverse of how it normally was. She felt complete in the arms of the woman she loved and the Artemis portion of her was purring contently. She started to sob again; it felt good to release what had been building up over the last few days.

She felt Bo shifting their positions slightly so that Bo was sitting up straighter and pulled Lauren down cradling her to Bo's chest. Lauren slowly calmed down as she listened to her mates heartbeat. It was calm and soothing and a reminder that Bo was here with her, regardless of what capacity that was in. She felt a kiss being pressed to the crown of her head. Soothing words were murmured into her hair. Lauren sighed as she started to calm down, she felt so tired, all of the crying had taken away her energy.

She felt Bo shifting, pulling Lauren up to kiss Lauren on the lips. Lauren sighed into the kiss and enjoyed the feeling of Bo's lips against her own for the first time. She was so tired, both physically and emotionally. Lauren was also overcome with an irrational desire to feel her love's skin against hers, her Artemis needed to feel that this was all real, and she did too. Lauren pulled back from the embrace slightly, and looked Bo in the eye and told her. "I need to feel you. I need to feel your skin against mine."

Lauren saw Bo contemplate the idea for a moment before saying nodding slightly. "Okay." Bo pulled back, Lauren immediately missed the warmth of having Bo's body against hers. She saw her love reach out her hand to pull Lauren up. Lauren took Bo's hand and was pulled into a standing position. "Let's go lie on the grass it will be softer. We can use the tunics as a bottom sheet and a blanket okay?"

Lauren felt herself nodding. Bo grasped her hand and lead her over to the soft looking grass of the field nearby. Lauren wanted to laugh at the absurdity of this, it this should be a dream, and yet it felt so real. She felt Bo reach over to the rope belt keeping the tunic at her waist, asking for permission. Lauren nodded, she felt the rope loosen and then come off, the tunic billowed out around her. Bo reached for one of the shoulder pins and in moments the tunic was undone, becoming a large rectangle of cloth.

Lauren knew that she should feel embarrassed, she had asked for something so illogical as needing to feel her mate's skin against hers and yet she didn't feel embarrassed. She should also feel embarrassed about standing naked in front of her love and yet she didn't perhaps she was simply to emotionally exhausted to care. She glanced over at Bo who must have taken her own tunic off. Bo was beautiful, Lauren felt herself staring at her mate. Bo looked over at her and laughed, Lauren felt herself flushing slightly. "Enjoy the view while you can. We won't make love for some time once we're together, I'll let my past explain that to you. But don't push me okay? It's really important you don't."

As Bo stepped into the moonlight Lauren caught sight of the lines marring her loves limbs. Some were only faint lines, such as most of the ones of her arms; on her legs were must more jagged pieces of skin, raised lines. She gasped out loud. Bo looked over from where she was spreading out one of the tunics on the ground and walked over to Lauren grabbing her hands. "My scars. They don't hurt. I'm going to let past me cover these guys to."

Lauren felt herself murmuring, "You're beautiful." Bo just laughed and looked over at Lauren and gestured to the tunic spread on the ground. "Our bed milady." Lauren was suddenly overcome with a wave of pure exhaustion. She nearly fell over. She felt Bo reach out to catch her. "Easy babe."

She felt Bo picking her up. Something that Bo shouldn't have been able to do but n that moment she didn't care. She wrapped her arms around her love's neck and buried her face in her shoulder. Bo set her down and quickly reached over to cover them with the other tunic. Bo pulled her close and Lauren cuddled into Bo's chest listening to her heartbeat. She felt so content, so complete in that moment. Her Artemis was purring in contentment, the moment was perfect.

Lauren felt Bo's arm tighten around her waist and the other come to rest under her head. Lauren wrapped her arm around Bo's waist and notched one of her legs between Bo's. "It's so rare I get to hold you, it's nice. Now sleep my love. Things will get better soon." Lauren grumbled contently against Bo's chest and she felt a kiss being pressed to the crown of her head. A whisper in her ear "Just remember this moment when things get hard. I promise there will be more eventually, but not for a while, Meddy. But for now sleep baby."

Lauren felt herself starting to drift off when something came to her mind. A passage in a book she had read a long time ago. The Hunter's Moon was a mythical embodiment of power said to emerge when a great change was about to be undergone. It was said that the power was a reflection of the Artemis' own, when the Hunter's Moon manifested the Artemis grew more powerful and more able to fight. She had heard rumors floating around that the Hunter's Moon had not manifested in over a thousand years, the last time a mating bond had been completed successfully.

The prophecy she had read! When the Hunter's Moon manifested for the first time in thousands of years, she who inherited the power was to be bound to the most powerful Artemis to exist, the two were destined to fight and overcome the curse, but only at a great price. It couldn't be, there was not way it could be her and Bo. She felt a hand come up and run through her hair. "It will be okay baby. Sleep."

Lauren felt warm and content, she could think more about what she remembered when she woke up. She was happy, her love was safe and happy, her Artemis was purring. She felt the soothing hand continue to run through her hair, the voice whispering gently in her ear and the sound of her love's heartbeat all soothed her to sleep.


	11. Chapter X: Moving Shadow

**A/N: Hello. Another update. Thank-you for all who left reviews they are greatly appreciated. Also thank-you for all of the new follows and favourites, they are greatly appreciated. :) Hope you enjoy this chapter! As usual all spelling and grammar errors are mine. **

Lauren could feel herself waking up. She shifted slightly, she could feel another body next to hers, and she felt the grip on her waste tighten. Lauren blinked her eyes open, expecting to find the sun shinning into her eyes. Instead she was greeted with the same soft light from what she had thought was a dream. She pulled away slightly from the arms that were holding her; Lauren shifted her head a little and looked up at the face of the person holding her.

Lauren's breath caught in her throat, Bo looked so beautiful in that moment. Her face was highlighted by silver light and dark shadows from the moonlight. She looked absolutely breathtaking. Lauren could feel Bo shiver slightly, she suddenly remembered that they were outside, suddenly feeling cold Lauren burrowed into Bo's warmth. Slotting herself back into the position she had been in before, she felt Bo shifting slightly, pulling her closer. Lauren sighed, she knew that she should wake Bo up, but she just wanted to enjoy this feeling for a little longer. Lauren could feel herself getting drowsy again, as she was drifting off she thought about how strange it was that she had awoken in a dream, perhaps it wasn't a dream. Lauren wanted to continue thinking about the situation, but she was too tired to think, so she just burrowed into Bo's warmth and enjoyed the warmth provided by her love and the thick weave of the tunic. She heard a slight murmur from Bo just as she was drifting off again.

When she awoke again she had expected to be in her bedroom back in her apartment. Instead she was on the ground, only a tunic separating her naked body from the ground and another over her protecting her from the elements. She also could feel another source of heat coming from her side. So she was still within her dream. Lauren frowned, she had never heard of someone who repeatedly fell asleep in a dream, only to awaken in it again. She was also neither hungry nor thirsty, which added another level of confusion. If this was reality she should be feeling her bodily needs, and yet she was not. Lauren could perceive hot and cold, feel when she was warm and cold, something she should not feel in a dream. Where was she?

She wanted to get up and to start searching, and yet that would involve leaving the arms of her love, whom was holding onto her tightly, still asleep, her breathing even and slow. She sighed and snuggled closer to Bo, enjoying the feeling of her mate's body against her own. She wanted to get up and keep moving, to search out the answers for the questions starting to bubble to the surface of her mind. Yet she also didn't want to get up because Lauren did not know when the next opportunity she would get to sleep in her mate's arms, or Bo is hers.

Lauren decided to just lie there for a while longer before she attempted to awaken her mate. For the first time she pulled her head away from its place against Bo's chest, rising off the arm she had been using as a pillow. Lauren shifted slightly so that she could catch the profile of Bo's face, she expected it to be bathed in sunlight, and yet it was still night. The moon was still shinning brightly. How long had they been asleep for? Where was she? Had day and night passed already without her awareness?

Lauren shook her head, they would have been awakened by the sunlight, there were no trees to provide shade, and the blanket had not been pulled over her head. This could mean that less time had passed then she thought, or that is was perpetual night in this place. The former was the more logical of the two, there was no way by which for her to measure time, the moon's position had not changed and there was no sign of light on the horizon. Hover her mind pointed out that the sheer fact that Bo was here with her meant that the traditional rules of logic probably did not apply to this place. As absurd as it sounded the hypothesis of perpetual night was the more likely of the two.

She heard a shifting and a groaning at her side. She reached her hand up to run a hand through Bo's hair in an attempt to soothe her mate. She heard a small grumble and the arms around her waist drawing her closer to Bo, as if the other woman was afraid she would disappear. She turned back onto her side and grabbed Bo's waist, squeezing it in an attempt to ensure that her love knew she was there. Offer her whatever comfort she could from whatever was haunting her dreams.

Lauren could feel Bo shifting and heard her grumble in discontent. She felt the chest rising and falling against her pick up. Bo must be waking up. Lauren snuggled closer to Bo enjoying the warmth of the embrace before they both had to get up and start attempting to get up and look for a way out of this place. She felt Bo shifting, pulling Lauren closer to her most likely simply enjoying the embrace. Lauren snuggled closer, feeling her mate's skin against hers. She could feel her Artemis purring with a content grumbling, she was content not to move in this moment.

She felt a kiss being pressed to her forehead, and a voice whispering in her ear "It's time to get up Meddy. We need to start moving there's something that you need to see." Lauren groaned and tightened her grip around Bo and pressed a kiss on her shoulder and nodded against her shoulder. She started to sit up, bringing to tunic up with her to cover her chest. She flashed Bo a smile and Bo gave her the same breathtaking smile she had given her earlier in the evening.

She saw Bo also sitting-up, also holding the tunic to her chest. Lauren smiled for a moment before saying. "You need to let go of my tunic Bo. If we're going to get moving, I need to get dressed, and so do you unless you want me to jump you." Bo laughed before getting pushing Lauren slightly. "If you want me to let go of your tunic we both need to get up and off of mine."

Lauren laughed before standing up bringing her tunic with her, wrapping it around her like a towel. She looked around attempting to find the rope and shoulder pins. After looking around for a moment she managed to find them. Lauren took the tunic off of her, staring at it for a moment, attempting to figure out how to put it together.

After a moment she nearly smacked herself on the head. She quickly joined one of the corners together before running one of the pins together in the shoulder, joining the corners together. She slipped the tunic over her head a brought the other corners together and putting the pin through it. She looked around for the rope to tie the gapping side of her tunic together. She quickly found it on the ground and tied it around her waist; overlapping the fabric and making it cover her. She reached onto the ground, attempting to find the leather wrap for her hand. Quickly binding it around her hand and wrist she stood up, looking at Bo, who was fumbling around with her tunic. Lauren laughed before walking over and asking. "Do you want some help, Bo?"

Bo held the square of fabric out in front of her glaring at it before handing it to Lauren. "Could you? I think this fabric hates me." Lauren laughed again before reaching over and taking one of the pins from Bo's hand, quickly putting it through the fabric at the shoulder. Lauren handed the fabric back to Bo who slipped it on; Lauren almost whimpered she missed seeing her love's skin. Bo looked at her with a sparkle of happiness in her eyes for a moment before handing Lauren the other pin.

"The next time you transport us into an alternate plain of reality can you at least make the clothing a little more modern?" Bo asked with a teasing tone in her voice. Lauren laughed again. Was this what it would be like to be in a relationship with Bo? She was looking forward to it.

"Sorry Bo." Lauren mock apologized. "The next time my subconscious transports us to an 'alternate plain of reality' I will tell it to let you wear all the leather you want." She could hear Bo huff in amusement. She pinned the other shoulder of the dress into place before looking down onto the ground attempting to find the rope for her mate's dress. She heard an "Aha!" From behind her. Lauren turned around to see Bo tying the rope of her tunic, closing the side gap, which had offered Lauren a lovely view of her mate's skin. She already missed the view. Lauren sighed and shook her head. This dream? Was it really a dream? She had woken up in this plain twice; never returning to what she presumed was the real world.

Lauren could hear the ruffling of fabric behind her, Bo was attempting to redo the folds from earlier, which know that Lauren looked at it had a second purpose beyond decorative. They allowed Bo to move without tripping by exposing her ankles, why was the tunic so long in the first place when hers was much shorter?

More then likely for ease of movement for her. Artemis were meant to be fast on their feet, she would not need the extra fabric in the way when she was attempting to run, role and dodge. Although that did not explain why Bo was in the somewhat long and impractical dress, when she carried a sword and shield… they needed to retrieve the weapons.

Lauren reached over and grabbed Bo's hand leading her back over to the colonnade they had been on before. There weapons were there in a scattered pile, Bo must have been in a hurry to get them both in minimal clothing… Lauren laughed a little. She saw Bo looking at her a hint of amusement on her face. "What's so funny babe?"

"The scattered pile of weapons, I was just remembering how you used to leave random things around your room in the most random of places and then yell whenever I tried to tidy it even a little." Lauren could see Bo laughing a little.

"You usually get exasperated with me when I forget to pick up clothing." This instantly sobered Lauren, reminding her that this Bo was not _her_ Bo, this was a women who could easily be a figment of her imagination or was from a different time and place. She shook her head before turning to the pile of weapons on the ground, quickly grabbing the bow and quiver she set the bow on the bench before lifting the quiver over her head and settling it to run across her chest. She then lifted the bow, mindful of the weight on her back and settled the bow so that the cord of the bow rested along her chest and the wooden portion was against the quiver.

Lauren glanced over at Bo to see her looping the scabbard along her waist, settling the sword at her hips, she attached the shield to her back with the carrying strap over her chest. Lauren noticed that both of these movements seemed to be very deliberate, suggesting practice with the carrying of these weapons. What happened that required Bo to learn how to use a sword and shield. Was she not enough to protect her love? Was she not capable of doing what the other Artemis had been doing before her?

Lauren shook her head. It would make sense for Bo to learn how to defend herself using a weapon that… why wasn't she using a gun? The explosion. Bo's PTSD. It was possible she would be triggered by loud noises that sounded like explosions gunshots would be included. She was trained in the gun use she was a former soldier. But if the gun triggered her it would make sense for Bo to start using a different weapon, an older one that was less likely to trigger her. Lauren felt Bo's hand on her cheek. An arm wrapping around her. "Can I say that you look so sexy in this outfit Dr. Lewis?"

Lauren could feel herself flushing red from the compliment, it was so like Bo and so not like her at the same time. What was it about Bo that caused her thought processes to turn to mush? She felt Bo kissing her on the lips again, it was only a brief peck but it felt like so much more, like reassurance from her mate, that she was loved, she was cared for, and that she wanted her. Lauren sighed into the kiss. All to so Bo pulled back, moving up to press a kiss to her forehead and then her temple.

"There is a reason that we were brought here. There's something that you need to see in order to understand where you come from and from we will go, together." Bo sounded uncharacteristically serious in that moment. She felt Bo take her hand and begin to lead her down the steps of the colonnade and off in a direction that she had not seen before.

"Where…?" Lauren was about to ask where she was being led when Bo squeezed her hand in reassurance while saying. "I wish I could tell you but I can't, you made me promise. Said something about you needing to understand the origins your species, along with something about the curse."

Lauren tried to wrap her head around that piece of information. Her future self had told her mate, whom was quite obviously in love with her that she could not reveal information that Bo already knew to her past self because she needed to find out for herself? Lauren groaned attempting to think about the mechanics of such actions and the effects on timelines that they could have, but the only thing that kept coming to her brain was time travel was impossible by all laws of physics. Then again she was currently walking around on what was most likely a metaphysical plain of existence during which it was constantly night. Why not add time-traveling mates to the list! Lauren groaned she could feel a headache coming on.

When she got back she would most certainly have a good story to tell Kenzie, along with some important information. The information that would hopefully inform her future course of action and give her some idea of where she had to go from the present circumstances. She felt Bo stop for a moment and pull her into an embrace. "Stop thinking so much Meddy. Things will work themselves out. You need to stop thinking so much, start to trust your heart a little." She felt a kiss being pressed to her forehead.

"Kenzie said the same thing to me yesterday." Lauren said with a laugh.

Bo looked back and smiled. "Then she's a wise fox. Listen to her, she's right about a lot of stuff, especially when we're both being stubborn asses."

Lauren smiled. "Kenzie's a good friend. Surprisingly wise given her relative physical immaturity."

Bo laughed. "Trust me, you have no idea how much we both need her sometimes. Let's keep going shall we? I'm sure Tamsin's getting anxious. I had to hijack your Bo's conscious in order to be here. " Lauren cringed a little at the mention of Tamsin. She felt Bo squeeze her hand again before whispering. "Don't worry. You get the girl in the end. Remember what I said earlier? Its true, I do fall for you, but it's a hard and painful experience for both of us."

Lauren sighed. This Bo sounded a little more mature then the one in the present day. She sounded older to. How old was this Bo? She was itching to ask, to pry what details about the future she could. Yet something told her not too. She heard Bo laugh in her ear again before breaking the embrace and grabbing her hand again. "It shouldn't be to far know. I think you'll know when we get there."

Lauren nodded silently. They started to walk again; Lauren noticed the scenery beginning to change around her. Trees were beginning to appear where there had once only been gently rolling hills. She could also feel the ground changing, starting to become rougher; they were most likely going to be entering a forest soon. Lauren noticed that Bo was beginning to pick up speed, almost as if she were being drawn to something. Lauren could feel her pace beginning to pick up to match her mate's. Lauren noticed that the trees were beginning to become more and more frequent growing thicker and more densely packed as they continued along.

Yet it did not appear to be getting any darker, in fact it appeared to be doing the opposite, almost as if the light from the moon was getting stronger as they continued to make there way into the forest. Lauren could also feel herself beginning to get stronger, her powers were beginning to activate. Her tread became more even, less clumsy, she was beginning to feel more in tune with the forest around her, however the forest felt strangely devoid of life. Normally she would be able to hear the scamper of feet of small mammals along the forest floor, the rustling of wings from the birds, the crunching of branches and leaves from larger animals, the chirps and whistles, hoots, and yelps of various animals. She could hear nothing.

She looked over at Bo and felt her breath catch in her throat. Her eyes were glowing the same ethereal blue they had earlier that day, however they were not pulsing, her veins were not pulsing with power, she looked normal except for her eyes. However Lauren's now sharper eyes noticed small differences, her walk was more sure, her steps made in such a way that she would make only minimal noise. She looked ready to pounce, to run. She looked like an Artemis ready for a hunt. Was this the power of the Hunter's Moon? Then the other portion of it… The blood king was much more powerful then many gave him credit for if his human descendent could unleash so much power in a berserker state.

At the realization that both she and Bo were beginning to demonstrate their power, the perpetual night, and the glow of the moon and the stars. Lauren felt like hitting herself, how could she not have realized it sooner! She had read tales about the home of the Artemis temple, but she'd always dismissed it as impossible, an entirely different world for one species. It was impossible, and yet it must not have been because this was where they were now more then likely. They must be heading towards the shrine, she had read about it.

It was said that no one had been to the shrine in thousands of years. It was a sacred place to the Artemis, a place of sanctuary, a place of peace and of rest. However no one had visited it in thousands of years, it had been dismissed as an old legend or as a destroyed building lost to the ravages of time. The idea it had been in a separate dimension had been said to be patently absurd, and yet she was standing in it. This made no logical sense, yet it made a kind of illogical sense. Lauren groaned, why was everything a paradox.

Lauren had been so caught in her head that she had failed to notice that her and Bo had wandered deep into the forest. Bo had stopped, nearly causing her to trip as she continued to walk forwards, her love's strength was impressive indeed. Lauren was about to ask why they had stopped when she looked up she let out a gasp. In front of her was a building she was sure must have once been beautiful. It was made of the same marble as the colonnade and yet it seemed to be more. It appeared almost as if it were pulsing in the moonlight, it was a breathtaking sight and yet it was also sad.

The building appeared to have been crumbling, portions of the pillars were missing, there was rubble scattered about. The building itself appeared to be mostly intact, although it was missing the majority of its façade. Where there was once likely fresco's there were no more. She noticed that the massive doors to the temple were open, as if they had been waiting for this moment. Waiting for her.

She could feel Bo reach behind her and gently push her forwards in encouragement. "This is as far as I go. I want to come with you but its not my place. I'll be here when you get back." She heard a pause in Bo's speech. "Maybe when you get back we can get some more sleep like we did before." There was a wink. Lauren felt herself blushing slightly. She let go of Bo's hand and kissed her on the cheek.

"Take care of yourself." Lauren whispered in her ear. Lauren started to walk towards the decaying temple. She felt both scared and curious. This place could hold the answers to some of her questions, but at the same time something felt off about the area. It was as if it were projecting an almost overwhelming sadness, a sense of loss. But for once Lauren did not feel like crying, she instead felt curious and drawn to the feeling. She was more interested in knowing why then allowing the crushing sadness to overwhelm her. Lauren smiled a little to herself and looked back over her shoulder at Bo, and her mate was with her anyways.

Lauren walked up to the temple and began to climb the steps. They looked well worn as if they were traversed by thousands of pairs of feet before hers yet it was sealed away. Why?

Was it the power amplification that she was feeling? Or was it something more sinister? Lauren shook her head at the latter this place did not feel sinister, mysterious, but not sinister. Truth? Did this place contain truths from pasts that were better left buried? If that was the case then Lauren needed to know. The truth was painful, yet wasn't it better to have the knowledge then to be ignorant?

Lauren reached the top of the temple and looked around again. She noticed that the temple appeared to be in worse shape then she had originally thought. It was falling apart in the most literal sense. The walls she looked at had cracks running through them, chucks of stone missing. What could have caused this? Lauren wondered as she ran her hands over the walls in front of her. There was no rain, no sunlight, no damaging wind that could have caused this kind of damage to the building. She was not even sure if time passed in this world.

Lauren shook her head, attempting to clear it of her thoughts, as fascinating as the buildings reason for decay were there was a reason she was here. With a deep breath she entered the temple.

Lauren gasped when she entered, everything was partially or completely destroyed with the exception of a single statue in the middle of the room. It was highlighted by a single beam of light from the moon coming through a hole in the roof. She approached the statue cautiously.

As she got closer she noticed that it was a woman, her hair tied up by what appeared to be some sort of headband. Her tunic was very similar to Lauren's, although there appeared to be more fabric held in place by the belt, almost as if it were a shortened dress. The statue was carved in such intricate detail, she could see the leather wrapped around the woman's right hand, the bow and quiver at her back. This was a statue of an Artemis or… was it _Artemis_.

The original. The first. She was staring at the person her species was named after. Lauren let out a gasp. Just as she realized this she felt her lips forming a single word. "Artemis." Not her species, the mythical goddess they had been named after.

As she spoke the single word something happened to the inside of the temple. Words began to appear on the wall. The letters were in Ancient Greek and yet she could understand them. As she got closer she noticed the colour of the letters, they were streaks of red. The letters on the wall had been written in blood. It should have been black, but no it was as crimson as if it had just come out of a body. Lauren felt herself shuddering involuntarily.

She saw blood everyday on her job. And yet looking at the writing on the wall it became clear that this had been written by someone dying. Someone had written a dying message in there own blood.

_A curse cast upon you. Species of the huntress who took what was mine. When you find your one love they shall be taken from you as mine was taken from me by your goddess. _


	12. Chapter XI: Countdown to Insanity

**A/N: Thank-you so much to all of you who have taken the time to leave reviews, you're feedback is much appreciated and the kind words are much more then I deserve at times. Thank-you as well as those who have favourited and followed. As per usual all spelling and grammar errors are mine. **

Lauren read and reread the passage in front of her. She blinked and stared rubbing her eyes. The lettering was not changing; the words in front of her were not changing. They were real. Lauren could feel a shutter running down her spin, a chill settling into her bones.

The curse was real and cast by someone who was more then likely long dead to the world. Cast against a species tied to a goddess whom no one was sure if she was a legend or reality. Lauren took a deep shuddering breath.

Her brain was attempting to analyze what she saw in front of her. The curse was cast by someone who's love had been taken by the goddess of the hunt to the Ancient Greeks. A breath in and a breath out, attempting to calm herself. She was not sure what to make of the words on the wall. Lauren's analytical mind pointed out that the idea of a few thousand year old curse being responsible for much of her current life's problem. Lauren groaned, the curse should have worn off when the caster died if the curse was actually real to begin with.

Lauren sighed and brought her hand up to run over the letters on the wall. When she touched the letters she flinched. The blood on the wall was not dry as she had originally thought. It was warm and wet, as if it had just come from the artery of the person who cast the curse. Lauren shuddered; she should be worrying about the diseases, which could be transmitted through the blood. She should remove her hand, and yet she could not.

It was fascinating that after whatever length of time this building had been here that the blood could steel feel and look as if it were fresh. Lauren in the back of her mind was disturbed. Did this mean that the building and this plain was truly frozen in time? Was the curse alive because of this?

_Oh No. _If the original curse had been cast it was possible that something else had taken up the enforcement. The idea that something else had taken up the enforcement, no one had bonded completely in over a thousand years. She had started to shake slightly, pulling her hand away from the wall. She was truly doomed, her bond with Bo was doomed. She now knew what the original curse had been, but she had not idea who had cast the original curse, where it had come from, when it had been cast. She now knew why it had been cast, Artemis had taken someone else's lover away from them.

Lauren could feel herself starting to shake in place. She wanted to run out and run back to Bo, but she needed to breath, needed to understand what was going on around her. Lauren took a calming breath, analyze, and seek answers. She looked at the building around her. It looked to be Ancient Greek, similar to the images she had seen of the Parthenon. The writing on the wall was what appeared to be Ancient Greek letters on the wall, although they appeared to be a readable English, outdated, but readable.

The temple or building was incredibly old, but it was still standing. The world itself appeared to have architecture from the Ancient world. Had this entire plain been taken out of time and suspended in time? Or was it that the building she was standing in had been transported to this plain and the rest of the world had been based on this building and come into existence to reflect it. It was hard to know for sure. Lauren shook her head, it was likely that this building was not originally from this plain, and again Lauren shook her head she was jumping to conclusions based upon inadequate evidence. Her background information was based upon a myth written in a book, which could be considered a tertiary source at best.

Lauren sighed, she needed to check books when she got back. She needed to consider who could have started all of this. The human myth of Artemis may be a good place to start. She would need to track down the Fae version of these myths, but because of the rarity of them and the rarity of the legend about the original goddess, it would be hard to separate her people from the original goddess.

Then there was the issue of Bo. Lauren would have to tell Bo all of this at some point, to let Bo know what was going on, who they were to each other. Bo would hate her for keeping the information from each other the longer she deceived Bo. Was it truly deception? Lauren sighed. She also had to consider Bo's relationship with Tamsin…

Lauren shook her head. She had already been over all of this. At this point her and Bo barely knew each other, they needed to get to know each other again, reconnect and reestablish their friendship. Find out how compatible they were together. Perhaps she should tell Bo about the curse, leave out the portion about Bo being her mate?

Lauren took a deep breath. She took a glance at the wall it had not changed. There were no additional lines; there was no new information. Lauren looked around again and took in the statue of Artemis. This would perhaps be the key to finding out where this temple was from. Lauren sighed, she needed time to process this information, but first she needed to figure a way out of this world.

Lauren looked around once more at the temple taking it in, attempting to memorize all the details she could. Lauren turned her back and again began to walk out of the temple. As she walked out she shuddered the images of the bloody writing on the wall. She looked down at her hand, her finger tips were covered in warm sticky blood. Lauren shuddered. As she walked out, she caught sight of her mate, who was sitting patiently, waiting for her. Lauren's pace began to pick-up slightly.

She saw Bo look up. A look of confusion passing across her face. "Lauren?" She saw Bo look at her for a brief moment with an unreadable expression before a look of relief passed across her face. "Where are we?"

Lauren blinked stopping in the middle of the path. Did Bo not realize where she was? This Bo had reacted differently to her. Lauren looked at Bo, she didn't see the look of love in her eyes that she had seen a little while before. What had Bo said? "I had to hijack my present counterparts consciousness?"

The Bo from the future, or alternate time plain, or… there were to many possibilities. Many tantalizing possibilities… Focus on the present Lauren! You can think about alternate plains of existence and time travel later. Must have faded leaving Bo's present self and her stranded here. Lauren took a deep breath, there had to be a solution to get out of this place. Perhaps falling asleep again would be an idea?

"Lauren?" She saw a hand waving in front of her face. She blinked for a moment before smiling at Bo.

"Sorry, Bo." Lauren sighed before smiling a little. "Would you believe that this is all a dream?"

Bo looked at her for a moment before looking up at the sky. "I don't know, the sky it's beautiful and clear. I've never seen so many stars before." Lauren could see Bo shifting her head back down. "But this isn't a dream is it? At least not mine. I don't think I would dream of a forest or you and I decked out to go for a hunt." Bo paused for a moment. "Seems like something a huntress would dream of though. And before you answer, could I ask why you put me in this dress? It's beautiful but would be really hard to fight in."

Lauren sighed before starting to explain. "We… I don't know how we got here. I woke-up in a field not to far from here. And then you, well a version of you, was waiting for me. You said you needed to show me something so that I could try and understand something to do with my species. You lead me here, we'll a future version of you lead me here. I went into the temple over there." Lauren pointed her finger to the building behind her. "And I found out something that is interesting but at the moment useless without more information. I came out and then I found you, present you waiting for me. And here we are. As for where we are physically, well more likely mentally, I think we are in some kind of alternate reality construct, or at least a place frozen in time and inaccessible in everyday life."

Lauren could see Bo contemplating what she had said for a moment before looking at her again, an unreadable expression on her face. "So we're stuck here?"

Laure shook her head sadly. "I don't know. We got here somehow, so logically there has to be a way out, but I don't know it and I haven't had enough time to think about it, let alone explore the area and…"

Bo cut Lauren off, smiling slightly. "You're rambling again Meddy." Lauren saw Bo reach out and rest her hand on Lauren's shoulder gently "You don't know how to get us out."

Lauren sighed. She wanted to reach out and hug Bo, but it wasn't an option at the moment. Lauren looked over at Bo again, she appeared to be deep in thought, a serious expression on her face. "You said you woke-up here. Does that mean that you fell asleep in the real world?" Lauren nodded. "Could we try falling asleep to get back there?"

Lauren sighed before responding. "No. You, well future you, and I fell asleep here. We woke up here both times. That's what made me think this wasn't a dream."

"Maybe it's different because I'm me and not future me? Wait future me? Did I time travel here or something?" Lauren could here Bo groan. "No. I don't think I wanna know. So because I'm me from the current time and not future me, it could mean that we can escape by falling asleep. Shit! Tamsin." Bo groaned. "She's going to kill me." There was an awkward pause before Bo seemed to think of something else.

Lauren could feel her curiosity getting the best of her. "Why would Tamsin kill you?" She had to repress the urge to growl. Lauren knew that the expression was most likely figurative, but if Tamsin laid one finger on her mate…

Bo groaned. "She has a thing about me dreaming about other women. She's going to be made that I was dreaming about you, although this really isn't a dream. I was transported to a different reality while I was asleep, had my consciousness hijacked, and we've been here for who knows how long." Bo groaned again. "This all hurts my head." There was some grumbling.

Lauren sighed Bo was incredibly cute when she was confused and worried. She saw Bo look at her, looking as if she wanted to ask something else. Lauren sighed and nodded at Bo, if Bo didn't ask the question she would become awkward and fidgety and it would be so cute. Lauren sighed Bo was adorable when she didn't realize she was being adorable. "What was it you learned while you were in that temple? You looked so worried and confused, and well lost when you came out. Are you okay?"

Lauren sighed. Was she ready to explain this to Bo? Or would it be better to lie to her? Should she tell her a partial truth and risk a lie by omission? Should she reveal everything? Or…

Lauren could feel Bo grabbing her hand, leading her over to a portion of an overturned column that she had not noticed before. Lauren relished in the hand to hand contact, it was good to feel her mates skin against her own. She saw Bo sitting down and tugging on her hand like an impatient child. Lauren giggled a little before sitting down. She saw Bo flashing her a smile, not the one that she had been giving earlier, but a friendly one that she had seen before.

Lauren felt Bo resting her hand lightly on her knee briefly. "You can tell me anything Lauren. I mean it. You're my friend and that won't change. Whatever it is we will do this together."

Lauren felt herself tearing up slightly. Her voice cracking she asked "Really?"

Bo smiled at her. "Yah."

Lauren took a deep shuddering breath. A partial truth was better then no truth. She took a glance over at Bo, despite all that was going on she seemed relatively happy. Lauren didn't want to be responsible for breaking her relationship with Tamsin. Lauren knew she would have to tell Bo at some point but now was neither the time nor the place. Lauren was not sure Bo would even remember this conversation, but she wanted to have it. Needed to get this off of her chest, maybe Bo would be able to help.

Lauren could feel Bo squeezing her knee. Lauren turned her head slightly, there was an encouraging smile on Bo's face. "You know how I said that I was an Artemis?" Lauren could see Bo nod.

"You know that in the myth Artemis fell in love with a hero named Orion?" Another nod. "And how Apollo tricked her into shooting him in the head by challenging her to a contest? And how after she lost her love she swore that she would forever remain a virgin, never to fall in love again?" Bo nodded along to all of this.

"What does that myth have to do with anything? Do you have to give up sex or something?" Bo was making an unreadable face. Lauren imagined that for Bo there could be few fates that were worse. Although her future self had mentioned that they didn't make love for sometime after they got together. Why?

Lauren shook her head, she could think about that latter. "No Bo, I don't have to give up sex. The myth has a grain of truth in it. An Artemis can only fall in love romantically once in their lifetimes. That person is their mate, the one that they are destined to be with."

Bo looked shook for a second before a smile split across her face. "Did you find out who you're mate was? Is that why you came here? But why was my future self showing the person to you?" Bo looked contemplative for a second. "That must make dating simpler. So do you know her name?"

Lauren wanted to scream at Bo "It's You!" but she couldn't. Lauren sighed and shook her head before correcting Bo. "That's not why I was brought here. When a person meets their destined mate they feel an instant pull to the other person, a bond if you will. At first the bond is just physical attraction, however it very quickly becomes a need to be around that person all the time. Eventually a relationship will form and within a short period of time the Artemis will fall in love. It varies for the partners but they often feel the tug as well."

Bo looked at her confused. "So you're tied to one person? You don't have a choice of who you fall in love with?"

Lauren shook her head. "Yes to both of your questions."

Bo looked like she was puzzling over the answer for a moment. "Is it ever possible for the person you have feelings for not to return them?"

Lauren wanted to say "Yes! There's a specimen right in front of me." But she refrained, instead pulling on what she had read. "I haven't read any cases of the bond being resisted. Both parties eventually fell in love, the pull of the bond is hard to resist from what I've read."

Bo smiled. "So you guys are destined to be with one person huh? Sounds like a fairytale romance. You get happily ever after's."

Lauren sighed before shaking her head no. She saw the smile on Bo's face fall. "There's more to it then that. For an Artemis, meeting their mate is rare. Fae are very long lived Bo, capable of living for hundreds or thousands of years. What's more is that the mate's are often human, meaning that for an Artemis the odds of meeting your mate to begin with are low. And even if you do meet your mate there's the problem of Human-Fae relationships being illegal. And on top of all of that the bond is cursed. No mate pair has bonded completely in over a thousand years. When I went into the temple I saw the original curse written on the wall, but I need more time to think and analyze it in my head."

She felt Bo squeeze her hand and sigh audibly. "So you guys get stuck in Romeo and Juliet situations huh? Love against all odds that only ends in tragedy. That sucks royally. You said you haven't meet your mate yet?"

Lauren nodded. "If you do, tell me. I will do everything I can to make sure you and her get a happy ending, no dying involved. You deserve so much better then this Lo. I promise I'll help you find a way to end this curse. We've always overcome the odds when we're together. I don't see a reason to stop that now."

Lauren felt herself starting to tear up again. Why was she crying so much on this night? She felt arms wrap around her and pull her close to Bo. "You'll come up with something. You're big brain always comes up with something, and when you need to fight count me in. I may be human but you know I can hold my own." Lauren sighed and burrowed her face into Bo's shoulder.

After a moment she pulled away. "Thank-you." She said in an earnest voice. "Now can we try you're idea? I just want to get some sleep."

She felt Bo laugh and squeeze her shoulder gently. "Of course." She said in a soft voice, a smile on her face. Both of them stood, Bo nearly tripping over her dress in the process. That caused Lauren to laugh a little.

"Is there someplace we can go to lie down? No offence but forests really aren't my thing." This caused Lauren to laugh again before gesturing towards the path.

"There's a field not far from here. You, well future-you and I took a nap there for a little while." She saw Bo nod before heading down the path. Lauren sighed, Bo looked beautiful in the moonlight. She had also forgotten how easy it was to interact with Bo. She already felt them starting to fall back into their old patterns. Lauren also noticed that Bo had not had a flashback while she was here. Was it because this was their mental selves? Or was it because this was a different world?

Lauren sighed and shook her head before running down the path after Bo slightly. She could still feel the power surge from the temple running through her veins. It caused her powers to activate and for her to start running, quickly catching up to Bo and passing her. Lauren quickly realized what she had done and slowed down. She looked back at Bo afraid of her reaction.

She saw a look of awe of Bo's face. "You're so fast. And you're eyes. They're the same colour as the moon." Lauren could feel her face beginning to heat up at Bo's words. "You look so beautiful in this moment." What? Had Bo actually said that aloud? Lauren felt giddy on the inside. She had not scared Bo with the first demonstration of her powers.

She then saw Bo jog over to her, she appeared to be wincing slightly while she ran. Where the muscles in her legs affected by something? The shrapnel injuries? Or was it from last night? This morning's incident? Lauren was itching to run some tests on Bo. She would have to ask the next time Lauren saw Bo in their plain of reality.

"Sorry. The temple appears to magnify my powers." She heard Bo laugh.

"I meant what I said. It's not a big deal. Just a little surprising, but then again. I've had a rather odd 48 hours. So seeing you running fast and with glowing eyes is actually rather low on the totem pole considering my first exposure to the Fae was catching Kenzie in mid-shift between Kitsune? And human."

Lauren laughed. "Let's keep going. As much fun as staying here forever would be I have patients who need attending to and you have, well I don't actually know what you have since it's been two years and I don't really know what you do on a day to day basis anymore. Unless you're a stay at home person? Wait didn't you say you're a PI, but you also said you're on break. Oh god I'm rambling again, please stop me when I do this."

Lauren looked over at Bo and could see Bo laughing. Lauren felt herself go red in embarrassment. "I forgot how much you rambled. You're cute when you start doing it." Lauren felt herself blushing for entirely different reasons, as well as some butterflies in her stomach. The moment was becoming much more intimate then a friendship should be, yet wasn't that what had defined portions of her friendship with Bo? Moments that were to intimate for friends yet not intimate enough for a couple? They were often passed off as best friends and nobody would look at them twice. Lauren felt herself sighing, she wished they could be more.

Lauren started to walk down the trail again, a moment later she heard Bo jogging slightly to catch up. The footfalls sounded uneven, something truly was wrong with her gait. Lauren felt the urge to examine return. She shook her head and focused on the path ahead. Listening to the forest, it still sounded as dead as it had before. No signs of life. As if it were frozen in time, or the world had been created without animals.

She had become so lost in thought that Lauren did not notice when they reached the field she and Bo had slept in until she heard Bo asking her. "Is this the place?"

Lauren looked over at Bo and nodded before yawning. She felt exhausted. Despite having been up for only a few hours, or at least it only felt like a few hours. She was physically and emotionally exhausted. Lauren had been about to reach up and unpin her tunic when she stopped herself. That would be far from a good course of action given their present situation.

Lauren could see that Bo was wandering around, seemingly looking for an even portion of ground to lie down on. Lauren quickly found a place and began to take off her weapons and set them on the ground beside her before lying down on her side and curling into a ball. She heard footsteps approaching her and quiet grumbling as well as a few curses as Bo attempted to remove her scabbard and shield.

Eventually she heard a soft. "Aha, Yes." She heard two clangs as things fell to the ground and felt a body curl up against her back. "Goodnight Lauren. Remember, whatever you need? I'm there for you." She felt a hand reach over and grab her by the waist, pulling her close.

Lauren groaned, she had forgotten that Bo was something of a cuddle monster. She hated being held, but she loved to hold other people. Lauren could feel her Artemis purring contently. She felt warm and comfortable. Safe and Protected. She could feel even breathing against her neck Bo must have fallen asleep. She felt herself slipping towards unconsciousness as well. Before she fell asleep she found herself whispering. "I love you Bo."

* * *

Bo could feel herself returning to her body. She groaned, everything hurt. Every muscle in her body was aching, she hadn't felt this bad since the day after her first day of basic. She could also feel a throbbing in her head. She reached her arm out expecting to feel Lauren's body against hers, instead she felt a hand grab hers and guide it back down to the bed. A voice was talking to her. What was it saying? She could just barely make out the words. She felt a hand gripping hers. She squeezed the hand. She felt a squeeze back. Lauren? Tamsin?

Bo blinked her eyes open. She caught sight of a blob with brown hair. Dyson. Bo groaned closing her eyes again the lights hurt her eyes. She could hear someone saying something. She suddenly became aware of something much softer then ground beneath her, had it been a dream? It had felt so real, the sights, scents, sounds. Bo shrugged internally deciding it was most likely a Fae thing, she would ask Lauren about it the next time she saw her.

Lauren. The name made her heart clench. To be stuck with that fate. Bo had never truly believed in destiny or fate, but to find out that you can only love one person and that the bond between you is cursed? It made her heart hurt for Lauren and her mate? Bond mate? Lover? Love? Partner? Destined One? She needed to ask Lauren what term the Artemis used to describe the one they are destined for.

She also needed to find out what had landed her in… where was she? Bo focused on the smells around her, she recognized the scent, antiseptic. She was in the hospital. Bo took a deep breath and focused on happy memories. She let out the deep breath. She did not need to freak out. She felt someone squeeze her hand again. She focused on the sounds around her. She could hear talking. "Bo. Can you hear me Bo? Are you awake this time?"

Bo groaned in response before opening her eyes again. "Dyson. What're you doing here?" She said, her voice sounded rough and uneven. How long had she been out? She felt her eyes flutter shut again, the light still hurt them.

She could here some shuffling and Dyson had let go of her hand. "Hey. How are you doing?" Bo groaned again. "I'm going to take that as "As well as can be expected. Hello to you to Dyson." Bo laughed a little. Dyson then started to sound more serious "I'm going to go get Tamsin. She's just outside, talking to your doctor I think. I was told to wait here with you on pain of death, although she also told me to get her if you woke up, also on pain of death."

Bo heard shuffling and the sounds of fading footsteps. Bo opened her eyes again and tried to lift her head. The light was still to bright, she closed her eyes and let her head collapse back against the pillow. Bo sighed and wished she could go back to the place where it was constantly night, it didn't hurt her eyes as much.

The thought reminded her that she would need to get in contact with Lauren soon. They needed to discuss the next steps with Kenzie. She also wanted to find out more about the Fae. Could she be of any use to them as a PI?

Bo was brought out of her thoughts by a shuffling at her side. A growl "Dyson, I swear to god if you interrupted our conversation again for no good reason you will be skinned alive. And look you did she's still unconscious. How many times do we have to go over this, involuntary movement does not mean she is waking up!"

Bo groaned out. "Tam? Babe?" She heard a rush of sound come across the room and a hand grab hers instantly.

"Right here babe. I'm right here. Can you open your eyes? I need to see your beautiful brown eyes." Bo opened her eyes a little. She saw Tamsin looking at her with a watery smile.

"Hi baby." She felt Tamsin press a kiss to her forehead. Bo reached up a hand and cupped Tamsin's cheek. She moved her thumb slightly to wipe away a tear. Why did the action feel so familiar? Like she had done it only a little while ago? She felt Tamsin moving to lay a kiss on the palm of Bo's hand before gripping it with her other. "You're awake."

It was rare for Tamsin to react this way, she was never like this in public so why? Afghanistan. Bo moved the hand resting on Tamsin's face to the back of her head to tug her forward until their foreheads were pressed together, noses touching. She nuzzled Tamsin slightly.

"Hey I'm right here. I'm okay. Feel like a truck ran over me, but I'm okay. So no more waterworks okay?" She felt Tamsin shifting slightly, moving to nuzzle her nose slightly.

She heard a watery laugh and her other hand being squeezed. "I know babe. I know. I love you so much." She felt a tear drop onto her cheek.

An image flashed in her mind. She was holding Lauren, her front pressed into Lauren's back they were spooning. A calm moment, her head was buried in Lauren's neck, she had lifted arm up for Lauren to use as a pillow. She could hear Lauren whisper "I love you" in a sleepy voice. A warm fuzziness in her mind, contentedness she had never felt, warmth, protection, safety, the connection she felt to Lauren since they first meet. She was Lauren's mate. Bo gasped, her eyes opening flashing silver with pulses ethereal blue.

Elsewhere Lauren gasped, her eyes opening and flashing silver. She felt a tug. The mating bond had been realized.

"And so it has begun." Echoed in the minds of two mates.


	13. Chapter XII: The Path Less Traveled

**A/N: Thank-you to everyone who left reviews. The kind words are greatly appreciated and the constructive criticism was greatly appreciated. Thank-you to everyone who has favourited and followed this story so far. All of my readers are amazing for simply putting up with this story, so thank you so much. As per usual all spelling and grammar errors are mine. **

Bo's head jerked up, causing her to bang her forehead into Tamsin's nose. "Ow Bo. What the hell!"

Bo looked around. Where had that voice come from? Who had it been? What was going on? Tamsin's words registered in her mind. "I'm so sorry baby. I thought I heard something." She felt Tamsin lean down and peck her on the forehead again before leaning her forehead against her own again, lightly bumping noses.

"It's okay. It's been a long day, I'm sure it was just your brain playing tricks." Bo sighed and nuzzled into Tamsin a little. Everything was so confusing right now. She had far to much information in her brain, it felt like it was being overloaded. She was Lauren's mate. But did that mean that Lauren was hers?

Bo shook her head internally. It didn't. As badly as she felt about it, she was not about to risk her already fragile mental health on something that was a 'what if' for her at best. It was selfish, but if there was anything she had learned was that she needed to put herself and Tamsin at the highest priority. Lauren was close to the top, but they were friends at best.

She was in love with Tamsin and while she felt drawn to Lauren it was in a platonic manner, she desired a deep friendship with Lauren, but nothing more. What was the word? Squish. She had a squish on Lauren. Anyways she and Lauren needed to start getting to know each other again and allow their friendship to regrow. Bo hated to say it but what happened from there would be mostly her choice but also fate.

Bo sighed. Knowing that Lauren was in love with her complicated her life, although she hoped that their friendship would survive. Bo also knew Lauren well enough to know that she would never interfere with her relationship with Tamsin; she nuzzled against her girlfriend again feeling herself starting to tear up a little.

She was tired and stressed; it had been a long day or night, whatever time it was. The Lauren situation had just become infinitely more complicated and she didn't know how to deal with it. She felt a tear slipping down her cheek. She felt a familiar pair of arms wrap around her shifting her head slightly to rest on her girlfriends shoulder. She sighed gratefully and inhaled the familiar scent. She could feel something damp hitting her hair. Tamsin was still crying, obviously relieved.

Bo just wanted to stay in her girlfriend's embrace and forget about the last few days. She burrowed her head against Tamsin's shoulder. She murmured so that only Tamsin could hear. "When we get home can we just cuddle for a while? I need you to hold me. I need you to just hold me."

She felt Tamsin nodding. "They're going to discharge you, they were just waiting for you to wake-up. No signs of concussion or brain bleed they said so you're good to go. And of course I'll hold you. You know I will." Bo hid her face in Tamsin's shoulder. She felt Tamsin lean down and kiss her. Bo sighed and returned the kiss, leaning in slightly to apply more pressure.

They someone clearing their throat behind them. "Come on lovebirds break it up. I think the poor Doc here wants to get going." Bo could feel Tamsin bumping their noses gently. This caused Bo to smile slightly.

"Ms. Dennis? How are you feeling?" The doctor asker her.

"I'm fine. Can I go home?" Bo asked trying to sit up in bed. She nearly winced in pain. Everything really did hurt. As she sat up the world spun for a brief moment before reorienting. She could feel Tamsin's arms wrapped around her shoulder, ready to help her up, she sighed, Tamsin had gotten far to good at this.

She moved her hand slightly and tapped Tamsin on the arm. Bringing her hands up to rest on Tamsin's shoulders. Their signal for "I'm ready to stand." She felt Tamsin beginning to pull her up, she put the weight on her legs winced slightly and allowed herself to be shifted so that she was leaning on Tamsin somewhat.

"Can you walk on your own? Or do you need Dyson and I?" She heard Tamsin whispering into her ear. She felt Tamsin letting go, the arms lightly around her waist in case she was about to fall. She took a step forward. She could walk. Bo looked over at Tamsin and smiled. This felt like she was back in her early days of Physiotherapy again. Bo groaned slightly, every muscle in her body ached, she felt incredibly stiff.

The stiffness and pain must have shown in her movements because the doctor got a worried look on her face. She looked over at the doctor before smiling. "I'm fine. Nothing I haven't felt before." Bo saw Tamsin giving her a pointed look. Bo felt an arm coming around her waist, supporting her.

Bo groaned a little internally but smiled at Tamsin, she was gratefully for her. They began to make there way slowly out of the ER, stopping briefly at the nurses' station to sign the discharge papers, even though she hadn't ever truly been admitted. Dyson went ahead of them to bring a car around. It left Bo and Tamsin alone for a moment. She felt Tamsin's other arm coming around her and tugging Bo to her body.

"Just lean on me. Just… I'm so glad you're okay. Bo please… I know you want to see your friend. But please don't do anything stupid anymore. Today I just kept remembering when I got the call from that day. I don't want to do that again. I don't want to feel like that again. When I saw you on the ground in the restaurant…"

Bo brought her arms around Tamsin's waist. Pulling Tamsin close to her. She felt Tamsin sigh and bury her face into Bo's shoulder. Bo sighed. "We're a real pair of saps aren't we?"

All she got in response was a squeeze from Tamsin and a whisper of "I love you" in her ear. Bo sighed and pulled Tamsin a little closer to her. She brought her hand up to the blonde's hair and just let it rest there for the moment. This was so unusual for both of them, Bo had cried more in the past 48 hours then she had in the previous six months. She sighed, it was odd behaviour for her, but Tamsin's responses had been normal.

She heard a mumble against her collarbone. She tugged gently on Tamsin's head and as Tamsin lifted it, asked her. "What did you say?"

"The car's here." Bo glanced over and saw that it was not her or Dyson's personal vehicles. It was once of the squad cars, had Tamsin been called in from work again? Or… Tamsin said she had seen her at the restaurant, she must have been called to the scene and seen her before they could transport her out. Bo sighed, she didn't remember what had happened. The last thing she had heard was a gunshot and then it was blank. She must have gotten caught in a flashback, she had probably been hit in the head, which could have caused Bo to pass out.

Bo felt a gentle tugging on her waist. She looked at Tamsin, who was smiling at he in return. A gentle whisper of "Come on." They started to slowly walk towards the car, it was an agonizingly slow pace, each step hurt. As they walked Bo could feel herself getting progressively weaker and leaning more and more of her weight on Tamsin.

She heard a door opening and looked over, Dyson had stepped out of the car and had a worried look on his face. Bo smiled at him "I'm fine. Just really, really stiff." That wasn't the truth, she was in pain, but she hated hospitals. She saw Dyson give her a questioning look before stepping around to open the passenger door just as they reached the car.

Bo sat down slowly, gradually shifting her weight from Tamsin to the seat, wincing when she attempted to wiggle around to find a more comfortable position. Bo could feel Tamsin's skeptical eyes on her; she looked over at her girlfriend and gave her a weak smile. "I'll be fine." The only response Bo got was a pointed glare.

Bo sighed, Tamsin knew her far to well for her own good at times. She reached up for the seatbelt only to have it put into her hand, she looked up and saw Tamsin still glaring at her but her actions betrayed her feelings. Bo looked up gratefully and finished buckling herself in. She heard someone getting in on the driver's side and looked over, it was Dyson. Bo heard a quiet sigh and felt a quick peck being pressed to her forehead before her door was closed, she heard the door behind her open and then close, a click of the seatbelt.

Bo could feel a comfortable silence filling the car, although she could feel Dyson's worried glances at her as well as the worried eyes of her girlfriend at the back of her head. Bo sighed and closed her eyes, she leaned her head against the glass of the window, the cold felt good on her throbbing head. Bo could feel herself drifting off again. Hadn't she already been unconscious for hours? But she felt so tired.

Bo opened her eyes and looked around, confused. All she could see around her was darkness peppered with thousands of tiny lights. Where was she? Bo looked around again before catching sight of something that did not quite look right, amongst the thousands of tiny white lights she could see two glowing things alternating between blue and silver light. They pulsed with power, Bo felt drawn to them.

Bo could feel herself starting to walk forward, almost as if her body had a will of its own. What was happening? As Bo continued to walk she realized that the silver/blue lights were getting closer and larger, she could see the outline of a body, one which looked so familiar to her. _Her own_.

Bo stopped walking for a moment and simply stared at the thing in front of her. It looked just like her. Straight long brown hair, curvy yet athletic body, and yet there were obvious and more subtle differences. Was the other person even wearing clothes? It was light enough for Bo to be able to see the skin of herself? Her other self? Other women's arms and legs, skin she would now never leave exposed now. It was smooth, without a trace of imperfection; there was also an orange glow to it. That made it look inhuman. And then there were the eyes, sometimes a shade of blue that would be impossible in the real world, at other times a silver glow she had seen once before. When Lauren's powers were active, it was the same shade.

She could feel herself starting to talk her mouth forming the words before she could stop it. "What are you? Who are you?"

Bo was not sure what she had expected, whether she had expected the creature in front of her to reply or not. But she did. "I am you just as you are me, and yet we are not each other. We are separate yet linked entities. I am the manifestation of two separate powers born within you, one by circumstance, the other by luck."

Bo was not sure what she had expected, the voice which answered her question was soft, but had an undertone of power to it that made it feel almost more menacing. "So you're me, but you're not me? A Jungian Shadow? Is that what you are?" Bo shook her head for a moment. "No. You're not me, but you have my appearance, but you lack my memories or emotions. You are your own person, but somehow you're connected to me."

The creature shook its head slowly before smiling. "You are correct. I am you in a way. I am a portion of you that has lain dormant inside you until your Artemis was endangered. I took over, the first time I have manifested in thousands of human years. You could say I am a manifestation of your desire to protect those you love, but I am much older then you, I am older then human civilization. I have existed for eons and will continue to exist for eons after you. However you, human, intrigue me. You are different from those who came before you." She could see the creature in front of her thinking for a moment. "Yes I believe those who weave the tapestry have chosen a most interesting journey for you and your Artemis. So different from most of her kind, a healer, not a fighter. She also intrigues me."

Bo felt a shiver go down her spine. This thing in front of her, which wore _her_ appearance was obviously not human. Not connected to human's, but connected to the Fae. It did not seem menacing, but at the same time it did not seem to be good. Bo could feel herself staring at it for a few moments, attempting to process what it said two words standing out "Your Artemis."

Bo laughed lightly, so it was absolutely true. She was Lauren's destined mate, however she did have one question for the being in front of her. "How do I know this is not a dream?"

The creature laughed. "If this were a dream you would know. Surely this feels real? Much like the little visit to an alternate plain of reality you took, this is real."

Bo sighed, at least the being in front of her was forthright with answers. She looked around at the background again before asking it another question. "If Lauren and I are destined to be together then does that mean I have no choice about my future, that I have to be with Lauren?"

The creature cocked its head to the side in what appeared to be confusion, perhaps it was not an all knowing divine being after all. The face so much like her own then looked up at her and smiled. "You're not in love with your Artemis? Hmmm. I sense that you're heart belongs to another. Interesting. This was not something that I had expected. The Fate's are a devious bunch, or perhaps you are more intriguing then I though?" The creature was laughing. Bo felt another shudder running down her spine, fear spiking in her stomach.

"No, I know you. You are a special one. You have three paths in life, choice, a rarity, most live out a foreordained life. You are unique. You and your love, whomever it is, will end up doing great or terrible things." The creature in front of her got distant for a moment "Your thread got tangled with one it was not meant to, giving you the choice in life." It started to laugh again.

Bo steeled herself, she would not run, as much as she desired to. "I choose my own path in life. I choose who I love. My life is not foreordained."

The creature laughed. "You are naïve human, but correct. You and the women in your life are a variable that the Fate's did not count on. Giving your mate and you a chance that no others have had. And giving you choices in life you should not be able to make. You resist the mating bond of an Artemis' proper manifestation. You are loyal to your current love. Those are miracles in of themselves." The inhuman _thing_ in front of her laughed again. "This shall be a most interesting journey. I look forward to when I am called again. Do not fear Bo Dennis, I wish to ensure your survival as well as that of your mate."

Bo saw the creature fade. She stared confused. The thing had seemed menacing, and yet it did not appear to be evil, it was amused. It wanted to see the story of a person who's destiny was not written in the stars manifest, and it would take glee in however it ended. It did not care about anyone but her and Lauren. Bo sighed, whatever the Hunter's Moon was, if what it said was true and it manifested for the first time in millennia then something was about to change major league. Bo sighed and sat down on the surprisingly solid ground.

She brought a hand up to run through her hair. Too much had happened in the past 24 hours and she had no time to process any of it. Bo winced a little when she thought of the situation she had somehow gotten herself caught in. It couldn't accurately be called a love triangle because while she wanted Lauren's friendship she desired nothing more. She loved Tamsin and the feeling was mutual. What would she do if she fell in love with Lauren?

If she fell in love with Lauren but still had feelings for Tamsin would she end it because Lauren only got one shot? Bo shook her head. She really needed to stop worrying about the future and what if's, but she really didn't want to hurt anyone.

Bo winced, she felt caught between a rock and a hard place at the moment. The best thing she could do is for know keep the fact that she knew she was Lauren's mate to herself. She didn't want to loose Lauren's friendship, they had once been really close to each other and she could feel them falling into that pattern again, she had missed it. However Bo was in love with Tamsin. Bo sighed, in this moment she wished her girlfriend could just hold her.

The thought made Bo wince again, the feelings she had when she held Lauren were nothing like what she had felt before. Bo sighed; it was most likely a side effect of the Artemis bond, a way to draw them together, to make them desire to protect one and another. Bo sighed again, was it possible for the feelings of an Artemis to fade? She shrugged internally, most love faded after the initial passion ran its course, it was possible that would happen here as well.

The best thing she could do was try and avoid flaunting her relationship with Tamsin in front of Lauren, cutting Lauren off from her would hurt them both. Whether she liked it or not Bo still felt drawn to her, and it was getting harder to resist the magnetism she felt whenever she was around Lauren, cutting off contact would only hurt both of them. Bo sighed a little she also would follow through on her promise to try and help Lauren break the curse, it was a Juliet and Juliet situation for them, but it shouldn't have to be. Nobody should have to see the love of their life die.

Bo nodded to herself. She would do her best for now to manage her relationship with Lauren, while remaining loyal to Tamsin. She would not put herself in the same position she had years ago when she got caught in the triangle between Dyson and Tamsin. A small voice in Bo's head pointed out that no matter how the situation ended, at least one person would walk away with their heart broken. Bo knew the voice was right but wanted to ignore it for the moment, instead focusing on the present, she didn't want to let this break her and Tamsin.

Bo knew that in that moment she would fight for the relationship she had until the end, she could not let Lauren be the reason they broke. It would hurt to many people. Bo sighed and run another hand through her hair. Why was her life so god damn complicated?!

Bo sighed and took a calming breath, she was operating on information overload and to little sleep. She needed to focus on the incredibly immediate future, which involved cuddling with her girlfriend and trying to get a good nights sleep without being transported to an alternate plain of existence. Bo sighed and lay down on the ground, rolling over, her eyes were starting to get heavy. Bo felt herself reaching her arms out for a body that was smaller then hers by only a little. It was in that moment that Bo had a lucid though; she was already starting to fall a little bit. She was screwed.

* * *

Lauren gasped as the voice faded. The tug she felt had meant the bond had solidified, its existence had been acknowledged. It was no longer a theoretical entity, which could be ignored. How? She hadn't told Bo that she was her mate! She had been so careful. Had Bo figured it out on her own?

Lauren shook her head at that thought, she had never hinted to Bo that she was her mate. She had never given any indication, unless? Had Bo heard her "I love you". Lauren felt herself starting to tear up again. What would the consequences of that be? Would anything change? Would they actually have a chance?

Lauren shook her head at her own thoughts. It was unlikely that Bo had realized anything, it was more then likely her admitting her love to Bo that had triggered the bond. She felt something wet trickle down her cheek. The voice that she had heard in her head. What had it been and what had it meant by "And so it has begun."? Could that mean the curse was activated? Fully activated. Lauren let out a strangled sob at the thought. If she was responsible for the end of Bo's life…

She wouldn't be able to deal with it this time. Lauren shook her head and looked around, it was still nighttime. The moon was high in the sky, a few stars were visible. She looked over at the clock, it was a little past two in the morning, she had gotten home and fallen asleep at around 10…

Lauren groaned and laid back down against the pillows. It had felt like so much longer she had been caught in her dreams, but in reality only a few hours had passed. Lauren turned on her side and curled in on herself slightly. She missed the feeling of Bo holding her. Lauren sighed and brought a hand up to wipe her tears away. She needed to stop crying, it wouldn't bring about the answers she needed. It wouldn't bring about the answers she needed to save Bo's life or her own.

Lauren sighed and closed her eyes, she needed to get a little more sleep. That was when she heard a noise in her living room. At first Lauren had thought that it was simply Kenzie banging around attempting to make herself a midnight snack but she could hear deep voices, not Kenzie's higher pitch. Lauren shifted herself cautiously sitting up in bed.

She shifted herself gingerly so that her feet were on the ground she attempted to stand up. She winced slightly at the pain in her leg, but it was manageable. She took a step forward, nodding to herself, her leg could bear weight, that was a good sign. She moved over to the door of her room. She pressed her ear to it and listened. The voices were definitely male, she couldn't make out what they were saying but it was obvious they were not here for medical treatment.

Lauren took a deep breath and brought her ear away from the door. She could go and confront the men, demand to know what they were doing in her home in the middle of the night. She could flee, however that would leave Kenzie, who slept like she was dead, at their mercy. She could attempt to get past them to Kenzie's room without their knowledge, however Lauren wasn't sure how many of the men there were. Lauren sighed, the first one was the only option she had.

Laure quietly walked over to her closet and knelled down, pulling out a dust covered case. She opened the box and pulled out her bow and arrows, carefully setting them down she pulled out the armour that was underneath them. Lauren looked down at herself, she was still wearing her pajamas. Lauren sighed and began to snap the chest plate into place over her sleep shirt. She quietly attached the grieves to her legs and pulled on the simple sandals, finally she pulled on the hand armour, designed to protect her more from the arrows then from actual enemies.

Lauren sighed and as quietly as she could shifted the quiver onto her back, making a mental not to get more arrows as she did so. Lauren quickly pulled an arrow from the quiver and held it to her bow. She allowed herself to take a calming breath, she allowed her Artemis to begin to rear its head. Who ever the intruders were they should have known better then to try and assault an Artemis in their own home at night.

She crept over to the door and gently pulled it open. She peaked out and nearly gagged at what she saw. The creatures in front of her were not Fae, they were not human, they were not even Underfae. They were ghoulish monsters, sagging grey skin, mangled and disproportionate arms and legs. They did not look human. She saw one of them turn its head towards her.

A blood-chilling smile appeared on its face. Lauren wanted to shudder, but she steeled herself. She notched the arrow into the bow and drew back on the string slightly, she stepped forwards, out of the doorway, but keeping herself out of their reach. "Who are you? Who sent you hear?" She yelled at the monsters.

She had never seen this type of creature before, she was not sure it even had the cognition to understand what she was saying. However moments later she had no doubt that it could understand her because it's smile got even wider if possible. It spoke in a deep voice that sent a chill down her spine.

"Bonded Artemis. Will you never learn? You were cursed for a reason. And you've also broken the rules of the Fae, you fell in love with a human. It was only right that we were sent as a little reminder of what can happen if you don't follow the laws." It still hadn't answered her question. This gave her no idea as to who sent them.

"You can call us, enforcement if you would like. We simply want to uphold the laws and that means we have to kill you're little lover, it also means that you have to be punished." It laughed. "We are the first thing a bonded pair see, and their last. We will haunt your dreams and your days. Even if you kill us more will come. We are to old to have names, but you should fear our master's who do have names. I believe you have heard of them. Lauren growled at him, she could feel her eyes starting to pulse. She let the arrow she had notched in the bow fly, as always it flew straight and true, hitting the thing in its chest. It collapsed, struggling to breath.

But it kept smiling at her, the same spin chilling smile. "We are the first of many. We will ensure you do not succeed in your destiny, that you will join your sisters in death." The awful thing faded out of existence, it body turning to dust. Lauren shuddered. What had that thing been? It had gone after her because the curse had been activated? Or was it enforcement sent by… Oh no! The laws, Una Mens. Enforcement The curse that had been cast. Bonded Artemis, human love. Fall in love with human. Illegal. Omniscient.

Lauren took a deep shuddering breath. She felt a tug deep within her, an unsettling feeling. Something was wrong, she felt a tugging. The sensation felt familiar. When had she felt it before?

A memory came to her mind unbidden. This was not the first time she had seen these creatures. Afghanistan. They had attacked that day. Bo had been passed out. Her instincts had taken over. She had fought them that day. She had felt a tug, she had looked over to find one of them strangling Bo.

Bo! She was in danger. Lauren took off running out the door. A thought came to her mind unbidden. _How can you run from something that sees everything? _


	14. Chapter XIII: One Way Out

**A/N: Thank-you for all of the kind words as well as the constructive criticism, both are greatly appreciated. Thank-you as well to all of you who have favourited or followed this story. Sorry about the delay with this chapter. As per usual all spelling and grammar errors are my own. **

Lauren ran down the street at speeds, which should have been considered inhuman, fast for even her. She could almost feel eyes staring at her, however it was the middle of the night. No one except a few homeless people would be up and about at this hour.

Instead of her usual jumble of thoughts, half formed hypotheses, observations of the world, things to look up, new books to read. There was a singular focus of her mind_ protect Bo._ She could feel the tugging sensation becoming stronger. _Danger_. She needed to find Bo now! Lauren continued to run, she should have started to feel out of breath due to higher then normal physical exertion, but she did not. It would be interesting to examine her physiological responses… A growl from inside of her mind cut her off. Her Artemis was acting up. Lauren sighed gave in. She needed to find and protect Bo, nothing else mattered but ensuring the survival of her mate.

How did she know where she was going? The logical part of her mind pointed out. Another growl. The tugging sensation was getting stronger. Bo was in danger she was close. Lauren growled. Whoever dared to harm her mate would pay. They would pay with their lives. It was in this moment that Lauren realized the true scope of the bond. The protectiveness and the possessiveness. It was turning her into something that she could barely recognize. The logical part of her mind, the _conscious_ part of her was screaming that this was insane, that she was a healer and not a killer. She had taken oaths to heal and protect, not hunt and harm.

These sides of her were ignored. The Artemis was in control. She smelt something, a scent that she associated with one word. _Home. _Mate. Lauren felt herself turn and begin to run in that direction. She felt her head turning to the side lightly, Lauren could see trees passing by in a blur. How fast was she going? The trees were blurring to her eyes, she was running at a very rapid pace. She was running faster then she had thought possible for her species. The Artemis were not known as fast runners amongst the Fae species, but perhaps this was the equivalent of the human adrenaline rush. Combined with the power from the moon and she would be a fearsome foe. Whoever dared to harm Bo would pay dearly.

She could feel herself loosing any grip of control she had over her body. She was ready to blackout, to let natural instinct take over. But she couldn't. She needed to see what was happening, to try and stop her primal self from hurting any people that were around. Lauren had heard stories of these states before but she had never believed them, thinking of them as over exaggerations of accounts brought on by anger and adrenaline causing memory loss or the distortion of the memories formed.

They were true. The feeling of being trapped while another being was in control. It was as fascinating as it was terrifying. She stopped for a moment before looking at the ground, what was she searching for? There! A car off to the side of the road, half wrecked in a ditch. Dents in the hood, doors opened, the occupants of the car must have gotten out. The area smelt strongly of Bo, the smell coming most strongly from the car. She had been there recently. Without a second thought she dashed towards the car.

"Bo!" She called out attempting to find her mate. She heard a growl from nearby as well as a high-pitched scream, as well as the yelling of someone's name. She looked over and saw a brunette laid down on the ground behind a rock, a blonde kneeling next to her what appeared to be a pile of dust beside her. She looked over to see another person, a man, kneeling on the other side of the brunette shaking her. A feeble attempt at protection, the rock would do little good. She saw a blonde resting her hand on Bo's shoulder shaking her. The blonde's other hand cupping Bo's face.

Lauren felt herself growling, how dare someone touch what was hers. The more human, for lack of a better word, part of her was yelling. Bo was not hers, however she did need to protect her, even if for only her own sanity. She looked over to see the creatures approaching her lover and the people in her life.

She felt herself reaching up to pull another arrow out of her quiver. She notched the arrow into the bow and pulled back on it. She blinked and focused her a little more power into her eyes to light the night. She pulled back on the bow and aimed.

She felt herself letting the arrow go. She rapidly pulled out another arrow and repeated the actions she had just preformed. Lauren analyzed her body with a distant sort of interest.

She noted that her abilities had increased substantially. She was faster more agile then she had ever been when she normally activated her powers. Her senses were heightened in a way that was more akin to an animal, then an Artemis on a hunt. Her vision and hearing usually were heightened when she activated her powers, they allowed her to tune in more with her environment, hear the small sounds the animals make, notice their small movements that would be otherwise impossible. This however was something more, she could smell scents in her environment then she had thought possible for an Artemis to smell, she was not a shifter. Her sense of smell must be heightened. Interesting.

Her sense of smell however had never heightened before tonight. Lauren was puzzled as to the reason for her heightened sense of smell, if it had never occurred before tonight what variable has changed? Was it because she had needed to locate her mate, whom was in danger? And she'd had no way of finding her other then scent? Or was this an ability that only came about when she released her most primal self, and not connected to Bo in anyway? So many possibilities, too many variables. Why was she thinking about this when Bo was in danger? Was it because she was merely a passenger in her own body?

It was odd to feel so disconnected from something as intrinsically you as your own body, Lauren thought. To know that another being was in control and that she could do nothing to stop it. She could fight it, try to regain control, but was it really the best option in the situation? Perhaps and perhaps not. She still needed the creature's power if she was going to protect Bo. Why did she feel so numb?

Lauren felt like a scientist at this point, interested in the specimen but detached from her work. She felt emotionally numb. That was incredibly odd. Perhaps because the only portion of herself conscious right now was her more logical thought processes. That in of itself could be considered odd, her emotions should be intrinsically linked to who she was as a person, not as her primal self. Or was she not allowing herself to feel in order to make the what should have been terrifying experience bearable?

Lauren felt herself moving again. She could feel her legs moving quickly, but she could hear no foot steps from her tread. She was not exhausted and she was not out of breath. She had never truly trained with these portions of her abilities so where had her increased endurance come from? Her complete control over her body? Was she evolving.

Lauren sighed, she would need to run several tests on herself to see if she was evolving, becoming something more then what she was currently. The thought should have scared her, but really it didn't. What was she changing to? Was she changing to match what Bo needed, as Bo seemed to have powers that could allow Bo to match her? Or perhaps she was changing so that she was more capable of protecting her mate, a sort of survival mechanism to ensure that they could survive long enough to produce offspring.

That brought about an interesting thought. Why would these instincts be active in same-sex mating situation? They could not reproduce. Perhaps it was simply a general instinct left over from a more primitive time, when nature was the primary threat to their existence. Lauren sighed a little mentally, she could understand the instincts existence, there were so few members of her species in existence… So each mate would be important, regardless of whom they were.

Lauren could feel her grip on reality beginning to steadily weaken, what little was left of her higher thought process was fading rapidly, as was her consciousness. She was getting less and less glimpses of the world around her, less and less sights and smells. She could barely feel her bodies movements, let alone attempt to control them. The Artemis wanted control; it wanted to fight to protect what it thought of as its mate, and it didn't want another voice crowding its mind. Lauren knew the dominant thought in her mind was protect. It was what she was supposed to do and this was the person she was supposed to protect with her life.

Another dull thump reached her ears. She looked out through her eyes and saw a world around her that surprised her. There were piles of dust everywhere, but there were no more sounds of movement, all the creatures in the immediate area seemed to have been killed. She felt her gaze being drawn towards Bo again, she was in much the same position as she had been before. Sprawled out on the ground behind a rock, seemingly unconscious. Around her were two other bodies slumped over, one she recognized as Tamsin, the other was a brunette that she had never seen before.

Everything went dark. She was starting to fade; soon it would be her primal instincts in complete control. The last thing she felt before she faded was her body starting to run again. The last thing she heard was the sound of a growl reaching her ears and a whisper of "Mine."

As she began to black out, her thoughts starting to get less and less coherent, she was struck by something funny. She could smell something; it smelt like home. Bo. Bo was safe. Lauren allowed herself to fade the last little bit with that thought. She hoped she would awaken again soon, and that her primal self did not cause too much damage to the world around her. Why wasn't she trying to fight this? To stay conscious? Was she simply exhausted? Emotionally and physically? An interesting thought came to her before she drifted off. She could feel when she was like this; she just hadn't wanted to let herself, and with that she felt a mix of emotions come to her.

The most prominent things she she felt was a rush of panic and fear. Why she wasn't completely sure. Fear of loosing Bo? Fear of loosing control of her own body? Fear of repeating what she had gone through two years ago when she had only just gotten the person she loved back? All of them. A small amount of relief too, Bo's scent was strong, she was close, she was safe. With a slight smile Lauren allowed herself to faded into unconsciousness.

* * *

Bo became aware that she was returning to her body again. Why was it that the last three times she had fallen asleep she ended up in some alternate plain of reality? Bo was counting the first dream she'd had the previous morning because it had felt to real to have actually been a dream. She tried to shift slightly, only to feel pain shoot through her body. It was worse then before. She heard herself gasp out loud and felt someone tug her closer to their body. She felt her head and upper torso being lifted slightly so that her back was resting against their front. She felt soft breasts pressing into her back, so it was a woman, kisses being pressed to the back of her neck.

Tamsin? No. Tamsin knew she hated being kissed on her neck most of the time, she would never do it. It couldn't be Dyson because the last time she had checked he had a flat chest. So who? A familiar scent caught her nose when someone leaned over to press a kiss to her temple. Familiar feels started to envelope her, comfort and safety, protection and warmth. It was Lauren. She tried to squirm away only to end up gasping in pain as soon as she attempted to move. She felt arms tighten around her waist, presumably to hold her in place. That only caused another wave of pain to hit her. Why was she in so much more pain then she had been earlier?

Bo took a slow breath and opened her eyes gradually. Instead of seeing the living room she had expected to be in she saw that she was outside in the middle of a field. Bo groaned and let her head fall back. Had she been transported to another alternate plain of reality? This was getting ridiculous. She felt someone nuzzling her shoulder a sound akin to a happy growl. What? Bo hoped desperately that she had misheard the noise.

Bo slowly moved her head to the side so that she could see what was going on. She could feel Lauren's head shifting, lifting off her shoulder. Bo tilted her head lightly so that she could look at Lauren's face. At first she didn't think anything was wrong until Lauren shifted her face in such a way that the moon caught her eyes. They were glowing silver, the same colour as the moon. Her powers were active. What was going on?

"Lauren." She managed to croak out. Her voice sounded rough and hoarse. Talking hurt her throat. What had happened to her? "What's going on?"

She saw Lauren leaning down, was she about to kiss her? Bo quickly turned her head the other, her muscles aching in protest. She felt the kiss land on her cheek instead of her lips. Good. "Safe. You're safe." Was purred into her ear. Since when did Lauren speak in monosyllabic words?

Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. This was not Lauren. Lauren would never try to kiss her like this, she knew Lauren well enough to know that she would never try anything that could infringe on her relationship with Tamsin. She felt Lauren nuzzling her neck again, laying kisses on it. Why did it not feel as uncomfortable as it should? She didn't feel trapped, she was comfortable. She liked being in Lauren's arms, it felt right.

What had the Hunter's Moon said? You have three paths. One of those paths more then likely lead to Lauren, although to what kind of relationship Bo didn't know. She knew she was starting to develop the first small hints of feelings for Lauren, but was that because of the bond? Or was it something that had always been there and she had been trying to deny?

Bo shook her head. To much information to little sleep. She needed a night's rest that didn't involve being transported to an alternate plain of reality. Bo sighed out loud; everything was so complicated right now. She couldn't make any decisions because she needed time to think, she needed a good nights sleep, although those tended to be rare and far in between each other.

Bo allowed herself to glance around the field, taking in her surroundings. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep in the car. No wait. She had awakened briefly in the car, something had appeared on the road and Dyson had swerved to avoid it, which caused her head to be thrown against the door, hard. She must have been knocked out again. What had that creature been?

She had only caught one brief glimpse of it before she had passed out. She had seen a vaguely human silhouette, but nothing else about it had looked right. Bo strained her memories trying to remember any other details, but she was blanking. Someone, presumably Dyson must have carried her out into the field. But that didn't explain Lauren. Dyson, Tamsin!

Shit, where were they. She lifted her head from where it had been resting on Lauren's shoulder to look around. She quickly spotted two figures, both sprawled out unconscious, something reflecting the light nearby. Their guns. What had happened? Bo struggled, trying to sit up more to see what was going on around her, only for her body to be tugged back against Lauren's. Kisses were being pressed to her neck again. She could feel Lauren alternating between that and just letting her head rest on her shoulder. What was going on? Why did she keep kissing her neck? Bo shook her head, she could question Lauren later, she needed to check on Tamsin and Dyson before she dealt with whatever had possessed her best friend.

"Meddy, I need you to let me go." She heard a growl and felt Lauren pull her closer, for the first time Bo noticed that she was wearing a metal plate across her chest. How had she not felt it? Bo shook her head. She shifted her head slightly and noticed a bow and a nearly empty quiver. What had happened?

"Mine" she heard growled into ear. What? Since when… Ah. So that's what was going on. Lauren must have lost control, this wasn't really Lauren who was interacting with at the moment. Well it was technically, but it was not the Lauren she knew well. Perhaps something similar to the Hunter's Moon? Bo sighed and laughed a little to herself. The entire situation was so completely absurd. Now how to get out of this without upsetting whatever was currently occupying her body.

Once the danger passed whatever was currently in Lauren's body would most likely be content to go back to its resting place. Bo sighed. This was so weird. How to calm the creature down enough, perhaps just resting in her arms would be enough. Once the creature realized that the danger had passed it would let go and Lauren would be able to fight her way out, or whatever was going on in her head.

It would lead to a rather awkward situation, but feign unconsciousness would maybe work. Maybe. So it most likely wouldn't, Lauren was a trauma surgeon she would know the difference. She lifted her hand lightly, only to be reminded that she really shouldn't make any sudden movements. She allowed herself to lean back and relax against Lauren for the moment. That seemed to comfort the creature occupying her friend's body for the moment. It relaxed and leaned back against something behind her. Bo sighed and turned on her side, curling into her friend but allowing her to face Tamsin and Dyson. Wincing as she did so.

She could see Tamsin beginning to twitch. Oh please no. Please don't let her be waking up. If Tamsin saw her Lauren like this well it would not be pretty, her girlfriend tended to have a jealous streak a kilometer wide. Bo groaned, she would not want to deal with that and if the way her friend was behaving was any indication then Lauren had forgotten to mention that the Artemis were possessive as hell. Two jealous people, oh god. That will not be fun to deal with.

Bo could feel Lauren tensing behind her. Had she seen Tamsin moving? Or… no she could hear something approaching. She felt Lauren pulling her up as she started to stand. Bo nearly yelled, the pain was so intense. She took a deep breath, and focused on the world around her. She felt herself leaning heavily against Lauren; she could barely support her own weight. What had happened to her?

She could see Lauren reaching down to grab the bow and an arrow from the quiver. Bo tried to walk herself over to lean against the rock, she barely managed to move, why was she so weak? Something had happened, she knew there was a gap in her memory. Something must have happened, something must have hurt her muscles to the point of aggravating injuries she thought had healed a long time ago.

Bo took a deep breath and took a few tiny steps towards the rather large rock. They must be in a park of some kind, there was no way that a rock this large would makes its way into what was essentially a field on its own. As Bo was starting to kneel down so that she was hidden by the rock she caught sight of a creature, similar to the one that had jumped in front of the car earlier.

She quickly ducked her head down, burying her face in the rock. She did not want another thing that haunted her dreams. She felt a breeze on a body and moved her head slightly, Lauren had just taken off running. Against her better judgment Bo felt herself peeking out from the rock. What she saw made her breath catch in awe. She saw Lauren moving around with an ethereal grace, she was running around the creature. It swiped at her only for her to dodge. She looked incredibly fluid in the movements, as if each of them had been practiced dozens of times before. She saw Lauren stop and aim at the creature with the bow in her hand.

The arrow she let loose flew straight into where Bo assumed the creatures heart was. She heard a rustling sound nearby, Bo shifted her head and saw Tamsin beginning to rise onto her knees.

Bo cursed in her head. Why did Tamsin always have the worst timing in existence, wrong time to tell Bo she loved her, Tamsin did it anyways! Wrong time to pursue a relationship, Tamsin does it anyways. Why was this the one time she needed to stay unconscious and out of it, something that would not be perceived as a threat she wakes up.

Bo takes a deep breath and starts to stand using the rock as support. As soon as she is up she starts to run as fast as she can towards Tamsin, who thankfully wasn't that far away. Each step hurt, but if she stayed where she was the situation would only get worse and Lauren may take actions that she regrets when she actually regains control.

As soon as she reached Tamsin she collapsed next to her girlfriend on the ground. She immediately felt arms going around her, lifting her up. Kisses being pressed to her face. "You're okay. You're okay. Oh thank god you're okay." Bo quickly pressed a kiss to Tamsin's lips to shut her up.

Bo could hear a swift series of movements. Bo leaned over and whispered into Tamsin's ear. "Whatever happens. You need to stay down. I know you're worried, but I need you to trust me. If I start to flashback, lift up my pant leg, let me feel the cold. No matter what don't talk. Don't touch me." She knew she sounded uncharacteristically serious but there was no other options at the moment.

As soon as she stood she felt arms come and wrap around her waist. Bo took a deep breath, she should have done this to begin with. She knew that Lauren would never harm her. Tamsin on the other hand could very easily get hurt. She and Lauren would need to have a long serious talk about all of this very, very soon, but for now she needed to bring her friend back.

She could feel a hand coming to rest on her ankle. Tamsin. Oh baby. She could hear a growl in her ear. Bo took a deep breath.

"Lauren. Can you hear me?" A slight growl in her ear.

"Lauren, just come back. I know you can gain control over this. Come on Meddy. I know who I am to you. I know what's between us. I can't promise anything but it's my life too. You're my best friend."

Bo could feel Lauren tense against her body. She felt Tamsin squeeze her ankle. "Lauren. Listen to me. I need you to be you. You will end up doing something you regret if you don't come back Lauren."

"You're not the type to give up, so fight. I need your big brain if we're going to figure this out." Bo took a deep breath. "So come on Meddy. Please fight, I know that you want to protect me. But I need you to fight for yourself and for me. I can save myself, you know that."

An idea struck Bo. She leaned over and whispered into Lauren ear. "Come on love. I can't promise you anything right know, but we could have a future. I know that I'm you're mate, Lauren. I might be starting to fall for you. But if I'm falling for you, it the you who is funny, brainy, and brave not the thing in front of me, so please fight." Please don't remember this. Please don't remember this. I'm so sorry Tamsin. I'm so sorry Lauren. Was the chorus going through her mind. At this point it could be considered denial more then anything else.

As if sensing what she was feeling she felt the hand around her ankle squeeze it again. She felt someone gasp. She pulled back and saw Lauren looking at her with big brown eyes. She immediately reached out and hugged Lauren.

"Meddy, don't you ever do that again." Bo whispered to Lauren before kissing her on the cheek. Quickly disengaging the embrace she kneeled down next to Tamsin who then proceeded to surge up and hug her. Bo reached down and lifted Tamsin's upper body to her, burying her face in Tamsin's hair. The actions she just took should have hurt, but they didn't, it was funny. Perhaps she was having an adrenaline rush.

She quickly felt Tamsin shifting to that she was on her knees in front of Bo. She began to press kisses to her face. Bo laughed a little and caught Tamsin in a kiss. She knew that if she looked back she would probably see a devastated look on Lauren's face. Her heart ached a little at the idea of causing the other blonde more pain. She could hear a deep intake of breath, was her hearing heightened? No, most likely she was just imagining things.

* * *

Lauren looked down at Bo and Tamsin embracing, she felt numb. No that wasn't right, she felt devastated. She had started to awaken when Bo started speaking to her; she had heard every single word. She had heard _I'm starting to fall for you _and _I know I'm your mate_. When she had heard those words her heart had started to leap with hope, perhaps the bond wasn't being resisted after all. But what she saw in front of her crushed any hope she had. She knew that Bo would never stop fighting for a relationship she was in.

Lauren wanted to run, to get as far away from the emotional pain as possible. To leave and to forget that this night had every happened. She could see Tamsin glaring at her, she saw Tamsin drawing Bo a little closer to her. She could see Bo resting her head in Tamsin's shoulder. She wasn't sure what to make of that. She could see that Tamsin was whispering something into Bo's ears before wrapping her arms around her waist firmly. They started to stand, Lauren could see that it was in a single fluid motion, each knowing what to do. It suggested practice and fairly frequent use of the movement. Lauren recognized it, a movement used to help patients who couldn't walk stand up.

Lauren took a deep breath. No more tears. She needed to be a supportive friend and she was still a doctor. She could still do something to help Bo. She could deal with her broken heart later. For know her mate, _friend_, needed her.

Lauren took a tentative step forward. "Tamsin? Bo?" she called out gently. She saw Tamsin lift her head to stare at her. Lauren took a deep breath. "Can I look you both over?" She didn't know why she was offering to examine them. She didn't even know how much Tamsin had seen, how much she knew. She could see Bo's head turning, whispering something in Tamsin's ear. She couldn't quite hear what she was saying, her powers must have worn off. Good. Lauren knew that she would need to examine herself, to try and figure out exactly what had happened.

She saw Tamsin lift one of her hands off of Bo's waist and gesture for her to come over.

"I don't know what I just saw Blondie, I'm not even sure if I believe what I just saw, but if you hurt her I will not hesitate to maim you in the most painful ways I know." She could feel Tamsin giving her a pointed glare before shifting her gaze to Bo. This caused the women's look to soften considerably.

"Come on babe. Can you stand on your own or are you in too much pain?" She saw Bo tap Tamsin on the upper arm. She saw Tamsin gesture for her to come over. "Can you take her Blondie? She can't really stand at the moment, to stiff?" Lauren saw Bo nod. What had happened to Bo to make her be in so much pain?

Her mind immediately started going over the events of the day, she had been moving fine when she saw her at the restaurant… The Hunter's Moon. It must have strained Bo's body. Combined with her previous injuries. Why wasn't she still in a hospital?! Bo and her stubbornness.

She reached out to grab Bo's waist and shift some of her weight of Tamsin. Lauren knew that she could easily support Bo's weight; increased strength was useful at times. She saw Bo shift her head to look at Lauren, before her eyes flashed blue, a pulse of silver passing through them. Lauren could see Bo's eyes rolling into the back of her head before she passed out.

Lauren immediately grabbed her around the waist and brought her down to the ground. What had just happened?


	15. Chapter XIV: Morningstar

**A/N: Thank-you for all the feedback. I know that many of you are probably angry because of how things turned out in the last chapter. I meant it when I said Doccubus would be cannon in the end, but right now we're not out of the first act yet, so give it some time. **

**I just want to say one thing about this story is that a portion of it is the idea of fate vs. choice. Within this story's world the paths of most people's lives are already written before they're born. Lauren and Bo are fated to fall in love, but because of a fluke, Bo was given a choice. A portion of that was Tamsin and her's threads of life crossing when it shouldn't have. Bo's choice will impact the future and the future of those around her. This is a very common theme in Ancient Greek tragedy which is where I'm drawing a portion of the inspiration from this story from. So Lauren cannot fall in love with another because she was fated to love Bo, it was never a choice. There is a reason the Artemis used destined love as one of the ways to describe their mates. **

**Anyways rant over, sorry about that. As per usual all spelling and grammar errors are mine. Thank-you for continuing to read this story. **

* * *

Lauren stared at the woman unconscious in her arms. She glanced up at Tamsin who was giving her a look that spoke of helplessness. She saw Tamsin kneel down on the ground on the other side of Bo. She could feel Tamsin reaching down for Bo's hand. Lauren could hear Tamsin take a deep breath before saying something that surprised her.

"You should shift her head so that it's resting against your chest, over your heart. It helps her to calm down sometimes if she starts to have nightmares, if Bo can hear the beat. It can also help prevent them. I could never figure out why but it seems to help her, I think it reminds her that the person in bed is alive." Tamsin gestured to Bo with a sad smile on her face. "She doesn't know, but that's how she sleeps most of the time, her head resting on my chest, over my heart so she can hear the beat. I figured it out shortly after she started having them, she would wake up screaming, muttering about that day in Afghanistan."

Lauren stared at Tamsin for a moment. Why was the woman sharing this information with her? Let alone asking her to do this? It seemed out of character for the other blonde, the first time she had meet Tamsin in person she had been shoved aside. Know she was asking Lauren to cradle her girlfriend's head to her chest to prevent nightmares? Why was she worrying about nightmares to begin with when it was clear that Bo had passed out and not fallen asleep?

Lauren opened her mouth, but was cut off by Tamsin before she could speak. "We can't shift her again. She was in so much pain earlier when I was trying to get her to lean on you. Bo rarely uses the gesture language anymore, that's how I could tell. But the stubborn idiot won't go to the hospital. She's in your arms and as much as I hate to say it that's where she should stay for the moment."

Lauren could see Tamsin taking a deep breath. "I see the way you look at her, like she's your whole world. The reason she told me to stay quite earlier, to feign unconsciousness, the reason she could bring you back. You are not human." Lauren was about to start protesting, attempt to cover her mistakes but Tamsin cut her off. "I saw you're eyes glowing silver, the same shade as the light of the moon. The way you moved, with an uncanny grace, a fluidity and nature that should be impossible. The entire time you were walking you didn't make a sound. It was inhuman. You hurt those creatures who were attacking you, and Bo could tell you wanted to hurt me, and yet she was confident you wouldn't hurt her. You two are tied in some way aren't you? I don't mean by the bonds of camaraderie of former soldiers, or the ties of best friends. I'm talking full on mystical bond shit."

Lauren stared at Tamsin, gaping with her mouth open. How could this woman have figured all of this out? Had Bo told her? No, she looked at the woman. There was a spark of intelligence in her eyes that she had never seen before. A keenness to her eyes, a spark of life. Lauren sighed.

"You're correct, on every count. I am part of a genus of creatures known as the Fae, a group of different species who are more commonly known to humans as supernatural beings, we are the sources of much of your mythology, your mystical creatures." Lauren laughed, "I really shouldn't be telling you this. It's against the laws, but you figured it out after only watching me fight once. Good job. Most people would deny what they saw and pass it off as a hallucination or dream. Yet you don't, why?"

"The way Bo was talking about you. She was serious to the point of being out of character for her. But she knew you wouldn't hurt her, because your tied together. Damn. You're in love with her."

Lauren stared at Tamsin, how could she have guessed all of that from a single interaction. It was a leap of logic at best, she had offered no other explanations which would have been more rational, no anything. She felt movement in her arms. She looked down to see Bo had turned on her side and her head was buried against her chest, there was content mumblings.

She heard Tamsin sigh. "Damn. When I got the girl I didn't think I'd get caught in another fucking triangle."

Lauren stared at her. "What do you mean?"

She could tell Tamsin wanted to say something, but was hesitating. She looked down at Bo before running two knuckles over her cheek and fond smile appearing on her face.

"About three years ago Bo fell in love with me and developed sexual attraction to Dyson over there." Tamsin said gesturing to the man still lying unconscious on the ground. "She thought she was in love with both of us at the same time, confused the hell out of her. She had a little identity crisis before deciding to pursue a relationship with Dyson, broke my heart, but I stayed out of the vain hope that she would realize that I was there."

"I fell in love with Bo sometime after we meet, we were roommates at University her second my first, I was in college before that so I had second year standing, though. At first I hated her, but the line between hate and love is a thin one, so eventually I fell for her. Spent quite few more years in denial about it, I had never fallen in love in my life and I thought falling for a person I hated was insane, but I did."

Why was Tamsin telling her this? "Bo eventually realized that what was between her and Dyson was friendship and nothing more. So that night I decided to confess to her, it was of course the worst possible timing I could have done. She had just broken-up with him and was worried that it'd ruined their friendship. Then I come in and tell her I'm in love with her."

"She didn't give me a straight answer that night or for a month afterwards. She eventually told me that she loved me back. I questioned if it was because she felt guilty. She said that no it wasn't and that she knew she was in love with me."

"She deployed a while later and then came back in an accident I'm sure you know something about." Tamsin sighed before laughing. "I don't even know why I'm telling you this. Maybe it's because it's 3 o'clock in the morning. I'm emotionally exhausted and physically exhausted. I just found out my girlfriend has someone else in love with her, and that she is starting to return the feelings."

What? Starting to return her feelings? Bo acted like she was a friend and nothing more, albeit a close friend, but still. How was it possible?

"When she looks at you, it's sometimes like the rest of the world fades away. Honestly I don't know what's going through her head right now. She's most likely denying it though."

"Tamsin… thank-you. I know you don't like me. If I was in your position I wouldn't like me. I do love her. She is literally my everything. An Artemis can only fall in love once in their lifetimes, with the person who we are destined to be with. For me that's Bo. But please know that if she expresses even the slightest desire to break the bond, I will try and find a way to do it. It's in some ways agony to see her with you, but I would never pursue her in a relationship, unless she indicated she was interested in me."

Tamsin looked at her for a moment, a sympathetic look crossing her face, she saw Tamsin reach out to caress Bo's cheek again. "That's rough. To fall in love with someone whose's already in love with someone else, and in a committed relationship on top of that. And for them to be the only person you can love, romantically, right? That's just a raw deal."

"I thought you would hate me for being in love with your girlfriend." She murmured looking at Tamsin, before looking down at Bo. It felt so right to have her in her arms.

"I may hate you Blondie, but even I can understand a raw deal when I see one. Your situation isn't something I would wish on my worst enemy. Is there no way for you to break the bond?" She heard Tamsin mutter.

"I could try, but I'm not sure if it would work. I'm not like a shifter, another species of Fae, who chooses their mates. Mine is literally destined for me. I have almost no agency when it comes to falling in love with her, and honestly she shouldn't really have any when it comes to me either."

She heard Tamsin laugh. "But she does. That's Bo though, always the exception to every rule."

She could feel movement in her arms. "Bo?" She could hear mumbling against her chest. "Can you speak up?"

She saw Bo lift her head away from her chest slightly her eyes still blue. "She has choices in life, a rare feet. Three possible paths, each of them leading down a different road. She is not yet at the place where it splits, but soon she shall be. She is a most interesting host. And you mate, you are equally as interesting." She saw Bo slump back forward, her head coming to rest just below her chest. Lauren quickly shifted Bo so that she would be in a more comfortable position.

She saw Tamsin staring at her. "What the fuck was that?"

Lauren shook her head smiling sadly. "I don't really know. It said it's name was the Hunter's Moon, and that it would protect me and Bo, but that was about it."

She heard Tamsin sigh. "I need a drink. Well no, can't drink. Bo's medicine and alcohol do not mix, so we don't really have any liquor in the house. I need something to knock me out for a few hours. And then we need to do something about leprechaun over there."

Lauren stared at Tamsin for a moment. "You're willing to work with me?"

"Blondie, it's 3 o'clock in the morning. I don't care if you're my girlfriend's mistress. I can go back to hating your guts in the morning, after we get some sleep. We're the only two people who are conscious right now and we need to get everyone out of here, because in case you didn't notice its freezing."

Lauren sighed before looking down at Bo. "We could go to my apartment for now. It's not far from here. I can carry Bo, if you could wake up the brunette over there. Dyson you said was his name?"

"Alright Blondie, but hands remain in appropriate places, got it? I understand you love her, but she's still my girlfriend." Lauren laughed a little at that. She could understand the feeling.

She looked down at the woman in her arms. Why was fate so cruel? Lauren sighed, she knew she could try and break the bond, to save herself the heartache. But she didn't know the consequences of trying to do so. What would it mean for her? What would it mean for Bo?

Lauren shuddered to remember the relationships she had been in before. They always ended badly because she couldn't feel as much as the other person, she could feel attraction, and shallow interpersonal desires, but she couldn't return the deep feelings that tended to develop in her relationships. Would it be better to break the bond and see how it affected both her and Bo?

But was it right to do it without Bo's consent. She was the other half of this equation who remained largely a mystery. She obviously felt the pull, but she was not developing any feelings. Why? She had never read a case of someone resisting the bond's pull before.

But was it really time to judge, as long as the series of events had been, it had been only two days since she found out that Bo was alive again. She had fallen for Bo before they left Afghanistan, but Bo had not fallen for her.

No matter what feelings rarely develop that quickly. But if the emotional pain of the last 48 hours was anything like what she would experience in coming weeks was it really worth it?

Lauren sighed. All of them needed some sleep, time to think about everything that was going on around them. She and Bo needed to sit down and talk about what their future looked like, what they both wanted to do. She could not make unilateral decisions about the bond, regardless of how much she wanted to. It was not only her life, it was Bo's too, and because she had the power's? Was possessed? By the Hunter's Moon there could be severely negative consequences to severing the bond.

Then there was negative potential in her own situation. Even if the bond with Bo was severed she sure that she would be able to date or fall in love with someone again, Artemis could only fall in love once, there was no guarantees that it would reset. There was also potential damage to her emotional capacity, she could lose the ability to feel romantic love, that would not be the absolute end of the world. However there was also a chance she would loose the ability to feel any kind of love, to never be able to feel love for another, in any capacity, passion for her ideas. It would be a dull life. There was an even worse potential, she could loose the ability to feel at all. No more pain, but also no more love. Was it better to suffer in pain and be able to feel? Or was it better for her to become numb and never feel anything again.

The Hunter's Moon had said that she had choice, a rarity, that there were three paths Bo could walk down. What did that mean? Unless… No, oh please no. Shit. Shit. Shit. The Fates, they had weaved their strands into the tapestry of life in such a way that there were a few branching paths. They almost never did that. Shit. If Bo had choice, then the outcome was uncertain until she chose the path she wanted to take. There was literally no way to tell the future until she made the choice.

The Hunter's Moon knew. Which meant that it was tied to the tapestry of life and in turn The Fates in some way. Which in turn would mean that it is likely much older then the stories suggest. The way it manifested suggested a separate being, with a different personality. It was not menacing it seemed, desiring to ensure her and Bo's survival. But why? It had said that said that it found Bo and her interesting, meaning that it was most likely looking forward to observing them, it found their situation interesting, it may be taking a sort of sick glee in observing them.

Lauren sighed and looked over at Tamsin whom was shaking Dyson, she winced when she saw her slap him. She heard a groan coming from her lap, Lauren looked down and brought her hand down to caress Bo's face. She heard Bo take a deep breath and stop moving.

Lauren sighed and started to stand, she could feel Bo wrapping her arms around her neck and shifting her head to rest against her shoulder. She felt calm for the moment, she sighed and gently bumped her forehead against Bo's. Lauren sighed and murmured "You cause my heart to ache in a way I didn't think was possible. To quote a song "You break me, but the pull is stronger then the push". I know that it's not healthy for me, for my sanity, but I love you." Lauren pressed a kiss to Bo's forehead before lifting her head up.

She saw Tamsin pulling on Dyson's arm, yelling something at him. The only consistent word she could hear was leprechaun. She sighed before calling out. "Are you ready to go yet?"

"Give me a minute Blondie. The leprechaun seems to have knocked himself crazy. As soon as he can stand up straight and take a step without falling we can go." Lauren sighed, another person she would need to examine when they got back. As well as looking over Tamsin, she would need to assess Dyson for an MTBI as well as attempt to figure out why Bo had passed out this time. She looked down at Bo before sighing, how could one person cause so much heart ache.

Lauren could here the sound of muffled footsteps approaching. She looked up to see Tamsin supporting Dyson, one arm around his waist the other arm around his neck. She looked around one last time, ensuring that her bow and quiver were on her back, when she caught sight of the car.

"What about your car?" Lauren called out.

She heard a sigh before Tamsin replied "I call it in in the morning. It's not going to go anywhere, and it's the middle of the night. Let's just go somewhere we can sleep before leprechaun and I have to go to work in the morning."

Lauren sighed before nodding, hoping that Tamsin could see the gesture. She slowly started to walk up the slope of the grassy field, careful not to jostle Bo too much. When she reached the top she looked down to see Tamsin and Dyson making slow progress, Dyson seemingly unable to keep his balance properly, and Tamsin attempting to keep the larger heavier man upright. It would have been an almost comical sight if it weren't for the danger that they could all be in.

Lauren sighed and began to walk along the sidewalk, stopping occasionally to adjust Bo in her arms and to look back and check on the progress of the two humans behind her. As they walked she noticed that Dyson appeared to be getting steadier on his feet, he was leaning less on Tamsin and walking straighter, more upright. That was a good sign, thankfully her apartment had elevators so there was no need to worry about the stairs.

They walked in what in total silence, the only sounds being the occasional curse from Tamsin or various mumblings coming from Bo. As they were walking Lauren began to notice more familiar landmarks, the grocery store across the street, the smaller park across from her building. She looked around before spotting the familiar beige colour of her building. She looked back at Tamsin before tilting her head towards the building, attempting to tell the other women that they were nearly there.

She saw Tamsin look pensive for a moment before realization dawned she smiled tiredly and nodded. As the group slowly approached the building Lauren loosened her grip on Bo for a moment to go digging for her keys, only to realize that she was wearing pajamas meaning she had no pockets. Lauren groaned, she had forgotten to change and grab her keys before running out of the apartment.

When Lauren reached the door she waited patiently for Tamsin and Dyson to approach. "Can one you open the door for me and then dial the number next to L. Lewis on the intercom. I forgot my keys, but my roommate should still be home, she may not answer on the first try but she'll answer eventually."

She saw Tamsin give her a disbelieving look before grumbling and reaching out to open the door, practically shoving Dyson through and then holding it open for Lauren and Bo. She saw Tamsin look over the list of occupants for a moment before finding her name and dialing the number.

It rang for a moment before they heard a voice on the other end. "Hello?" It sounded tentative and weary. Kenzie must have been awake for some time.

"Kenzie? It's me. I forgot my keys, can you buzz us in?" It was silent on the other end of the line before she heard a grumbling sound. A moment later she heard a buzzer indicate that the door had been unlocked. Lauren silently thanked whatever had caused her roommate to be up at this hour as she saw Tamsin open the door before shoving Dyson through it. Lauren followed at a slower pace, turning sideways so that she and Bo could fit through the door.

Her arms were starting to ache from carrying her mate for so long. She looked down at Bo briefly but could only see her hair, her face still buried in Lauren's neck. Lauren felt herself smiling a little, this would be a sweet moment if it weren't for the fact that her mate's girlfriend was here along with her… Dyson. Lauren sighed.

She looked up to see an impatient Tamsin tapping her foot next to the elevator call button, which appeared to be lit. Lauren sighed before quickly crossing the small grey room. Her lobby had never been the most inviting place, it was an industrial shade of grey, lacking the opulence and welcoming atmosphere that most apartment building lobbies at least tried to project.

Lauren sighed "I live on the fourth floor, just around the corner. It's the first door you'll see. If it's not open just knock." She saw Tamsin nod mutely before stepping into the elevator with Dyson, pulling him against the wall, giving Lauren enough space to maneuvering herself and Bo into the elevator.

They quickly reached her floor and Lauren immediately got out of the elevator as soon as the door opened. She found herself quickly dashing across the hallway to her door, where it was promptly opened by a surprised Kenzie, who immediately stepped out of the way as she ran past the Kitsune.

Lauren quickly walked over to her bedroom before gently settling Bo onto her bed. She stood up and rolled her aching shoulders, she had never carried someone for so long. She heard two more steps entering the apartment before a surprised yelp.

Lauren sighed and walked out the door before seeing a situation that looked rather comical. Kenzie appeared to have shifted again and was holding a rather large hilt of a sword in her tiny mouth, she assumed that at one point it would have been pointed menacingly at someone's throat, but now it was pointed "menacingly" at Tamsin's ankle.

"Kenzie, go shift back and put the sword away. That's Bo's" she felt herself chocking for a moment before spitting the word out" girlfriend Tamsin, the one you called Blondie? And the other one is her friend Dyson."

Lauren heard a small yip before she saw the small Kitsune trot off to her open bedroom door, dragging the sword in her mouth. Lauren shifted her gaze to Tamsin, who appeared to be staring at the little Kitsune with a bemused expression on her face. Lauren was about to speak when Tamsin lifted her hand to stop her.

"Honestly I don't care right now Blondie. I just want somewhere to dump the leprechaun before I go and catch a few z's." She saw Tamsin glance around for a moment. "Where did you put Bo?"

"The couch is available for Dyson and I put Bo in my bedroom. I know you probably want to go see her but I need to monitor her for now and someone needs to stay with Dyson, if he has a concussion then he needs to be woken up every few hours." Lauren could hear Tamsin sigh before she started to make her way across the room to the living room couch. As soon as she was in front of it she let Dyson go, and with more tenderness then Lauren expected lowered him onto the couch. "I'll just go get some blankets for you two, the chair next to the couch is an Ottoman if you want to lie down and get some sleep. If you want to go see Bo, you can do it now. My bedroom door's the one next to the window." Lauren saw Tamsin nod before starting to walk in that direction.

Lauren quickly walked over to the linen closet and started to grab blankets. She quickly walked back over to the seating area and dropped the blankets onto the table. She took a glance over at Dyson, his colour appeared to be good, his breathing was deep and regular. He appeared to have fallen asleep again. Gently Lauren approached and pressed her fingers to his neck, with a little searching she found the pulse. It was strong and regular. She breathed a sigh of relief. He seemed to be fine.

She heard footsteps approaching. She looked up and saw Tamsin, her eyes were a little red, as if she had been crying. Lauren sighed internally, the situation was so complex, and so many people could get hurt. She heard Tamsin clearing her throat. "If she starts having nightmares don't wake her up, if she starts to move and yell don't touch her, just wait for her to wake up. If she wakes up and doesn't appear to be with it, give her a minute to try and bring herself back. Don't try and talk to her, your voice, seems to trigger her. If she hasn't brought herself back in a few minutes come and wake me up. And don't try anything, I know you're a doctor but still…"

Lauren nodded mutely. She sighed, her voice triggered Bo, she had nearly forgotten. The last few times they had interacted had been in an alternate plain of reality, she hadn't been set off then, but then again… Lauren sighed. It was to late for her to be contemplating the specifics of Bo's PTSD. She mumbled a good night in Tamsin's general direction and headed off to bed, which would more then likely be her desk chair.

Lauren entered her bedroom and closed the door behind her gently, which threw the room into near darkness, except for the light of the moon. Lauren sighed and began to take off her armour, she gently placed it back into it's box before shoving the box into her closet. She took off the bow and quiver, but didn't put it away, instead setting it against the wall next to the bed. Lauren walked over to her desk and slowly dragged the desk chair out from where it was tucked under the desk and over to her bedside.

Realizing that Bo was still above the covers she gently pulled off Bo's shoes and socks before rolling her over onto her side. She pulled the covers down. When had she made the bed? And gently rolled Bo back onto the sheet. Just as she was about to pull the covers up and over Bo she heard her whimper a little. Lauren reached her hand out to touch Bo's cheek. A small sad smile crossing her face. This should have been her responsibility from the beginning, but it wasn't her job. She had a mate who wasn't in love with her and a fully active bond and curse, which came along with it.

Lauren sighed and sat down in her desk chair. The entire situation was a large complex bundle of emotions, all of which hinged on Bo and the decision she would have to make. What that looked like Lauren could only guess, she had no idea what branches the Fate's had woven into Bo's thread, it was so rare that they even gave individuals choice. It was hard to tell what the decision could be; the Fates were a tricky and mysterious group of women. No one was sure how they determined when to cut the thread of life, how to measure it, how the events of individual lives came together to form one complex narrative.

A whimper from the bed interrupted her musings. She looked over to see Bo reaching out for something in the bed. Another whimper, this time accompanied by a name "Lauren." What? Had she misheard? What was going on this time?

She could see Bo reaching out on the bed, looking for someone. She heard a small whimper, what was going on?

Taking a deep breath Lauren reached over to capture Bo's hand, intertwining their fingers. She could feel Bo squeezing her fingers before she heard what sounded like a pathetic cry. What was going on? This didn't seem like a nightmare. What was going on?

Lauren felt a tugging on her hand before another calling of her name. What was happening? Lauren sighed before moving to sit on the bed, leaning down to kiss Bo on the cheek. "I'm right here baby." She whispered into Bo's ear. Lauren sighed a little internally, this was really how it should have been from the start. Stop thinking like that Lauren told herself. Bo was not in love with her, but in these moments she could almost believe that she was. Her Artemis demanded that she protect and care for her mate. A part of it was doing things like this, even when it hurt.

Lauren lay down next to her love and pulled her into her arms. It was in that moment that Bo stopped struggling; she calmed down and burrowed into Lauren's chest. She looked down at the woman in her arms. She pressed a kiss to her forehead before whispering in her ear. "I love you baby."

Lauren suddenly felt sleepy, she was warm and content. Her mate was where she belonged. She was doing what she was supposed to. Laure knew that when she woke up, this would likely only lead to more pain, but in this moment she couldn't really bring herself to care.

* * *

Bo opened her eyes. A cold breeze blew past her, she shivered looking around. It was dark, the only source of light a series of torches placed in brackets along the walls. The walls… Bo shuddered a little. They appeared to be made of a black rock. A shade that was so dark, it reminded her of night without any light, it was almost as if the rock around her was draining the torches of any heat they could generate. Another breeze, it caused white to flare up around her.

She looked down. The same dress from the dream she'd had last night. Where was she? Bo caught something in the corner of her vision, an outline of familiar blonde hair wearing a short white tunic with her bow and quiver strapped to her back. When Bo turned around, Lauren had disappeared. What was going on? Was she hallucinating?

Another flash of blonde hair in the corner of her vision. She turned around again, facing the same direction she had before. What was going on?

"Lauren?" She tried calling out. Another flash of blonde hair further down the hall. Bo started running after Lauren. What was going on?

She caught another flash of blonde hair further down the hall. "Lauren?" She called out, starting to get desperate. Was she hallucinating? Or was it an apparition, a ghost? Bo reached down to her side only to find she didn't have the scabbard with her this time. With the sword, despite not knowing how to use it, she would have felt safer.

Another flash of blonde hair further down the tunnel. "Lauren!" She called out. Come on, can't you stay in one place Meddy? She found herself wondering. Another flash of blonde hair. Bo stopped and looked back, the hall behind her was darker then anything she had every seen, as if it was darkness itself. Bo took off running. "Lauren!" She called out, a note of fear in her voice. Where was she?

The last alternate plains of reality had not been like this. They had not been so creepy, so frightening. Another flash of blonde hair around a corner. What was her love doing? Love! Love!

Bo shook her head. She wasn't in love with Lauren. She couldn't be. Oh god. What was this place?

Bo ran down the hall, rounding the corner. She looked around and saw another flash of blonde hair. "Lauren!" she cried out, desperation in her voice. The torches around her were starting to dim, she needed to run. A scream from behind her. She needed to run, now. Bo took off, she ran down the hall.

She saw another flash of blonde hair around the corner. She was about to reach her hand out when she tripped and fell onto the ground. She whimpered slightly when she tried to stand up. "Lauren!" She called out hoping her friend would come back to help her.

There was no response. Bo felt herself starting to whimper. She was overcome with a sense of loneliness. Had her friend abandoned her? Bo felt like her heart was ripping in two at the thought. What was happening?

She tried to stand again only let out a yell of pain. Bo took a deep breath, she just needed to stand, to get up. Bo took another deep breath and attempted to stand again, only to fall over. Another whimper of pain.

"Lauren!" She tried calling out again, trying to get the attention of the person she loved. Oh god. Stop thinking. What was happening? What was this place? When she thought of Lauren, she associated the thought with love, support, warmth, comfort. Something was off, it was like her feelings had blossomed overnight. No not overnight. This was something she could see in the future. Sensations and feelings she could see herself feeling in the future. What was this place?

She felt warmth envelop her. She started to stand up, strength returning to her body. Bo started to run again. As she turned the corner she noticed a set of what seemed to be impossibly large wooden doors at the end of the hallway. Bo looked back, the darkness was closing in.

Bo started to run faster. She knew she should be in pain, but she wasn't. The door was a few paces in front of her. She could feel cold on her back. Come on. Bo reached the door and pulled on the handle. It was impossibly light despite its immense size. She quickly ran into the room and closed the door behind her.

She leaned against the door panting before she heard the sound of laughter. Bo slowly turned around.

In front of her were three old women. One spinning thread, one with a measuring rod, and the final one with a pair of shears. A long tapestry behind them. The spinner, the measurer, the cutter. Bo gasped as realization dawned upon her. The Moirai. Bo was standing face to face with the Fates of Ancient Greek Mythology.


	16. Chapter XV: Entombed

**A/N: Here's Chapter Fifteen, sorry for the delay I had a bit of writer's block for this story. Thank-you to everyone who had read this little fic of mine, a special thanks to those who left reviews as well as favourited and followed. As per usual all spelling and grammar errors are mine. Thank-you for taking the time to read this, for those who don't like the Valkubus, I think you'll like the ending to this chapter. **

* * *

Lauren felt Bo shifting in her arms again, she had fallen asleep for a short while only to be woken up by Bo's shifting and mumbling in her arms. Lauren pressed another kiss to Bo's forehead before pulling her closer.

"Bo, shhh. Its okay." She couldn't figure out what was happening. Her love had been whimpering and moving on and off all night. Something did not seem to be right. She seemed to be content for a time before she would start to move again. Lauren had tried to get out of bed, to go and get Tamsin, but Bo wouldn't let her go. When she had tried to move away she had been pulled back, as if Bo was afraid. Lauren couldn't figure out what was happening, it didn't seem like Bo was having a nightmare, this was different from how Tamsin had described them.

Lauren sighed and pulled Bo close to her, shifting herself up a little and turning onto her back before pulling Bo towards her. Bo shifted her head to rest on her chest. Lauren sighed and closed her eyes. What she was doing could be considered highly inappropriate at best, but it seemed to be the only way to calm Bo down for any length of time. Although the movement appeared to suggest that she was asleep rather then unconscious this time. That was good; it was a problem however because she could not wake Bo up, no amount of shaking of calling her name would wake the other woman.

Lauren sighed. How had they gotten to this point? Was what she was feeling right now really love or was it only attraction that was starting to blossom into more? Lauren felt another groan followed by a mumble, a content look crossing Bo's face for a moment, a familiar smirk coming to replace the distressed look on her face.

It reminded Lauren of the first time she had seen Bo that day in Afghanistan. The only woman in her unit, she stood tall and proud her shoulders back, brown hair in a tight bun. She looked like she had belonged there, amongst all of the men. Unfortunately the person who had introduced her had forgotten her name and only told them that she was the field medic who would be attached to their group from now on.

She had heard someone call out, the female in the group. "Nice to meet you Meddy!" When she had looked up she had seen a smile gracing the woman's features, it looked so natural there like it could light up a whole room. She locked eyes with the beautiful brunette for a moment she had beautiful brown eyes. Despite the world they were in, they lacked some of the hardness she had seen in the eyes of many solders, they seemed softer, more open. Lauren had felt a small tug towards the beautiful woman in front of her, she new that she was a goner right then and there.

A brief thought had crossed her mind that day. Could she be the one? Lauren had dismissed it as the shallow physical attraction that she had felt before, but she had known that something was different.

Overtime she and Bo had started to spend more and more time together during their off duty hours. She often visited Bo's quarters, only to find them an absolute mess that she would then cleanup, only to get yelled at. She had once seen Bo take out her sleeping bag and wiggle around like a worm on the ground when she had come to Bo after a rather bad day, she had lost a patient that she had been so sure would survive. Bo had attempted to get her to cheer her up by doing that ridiculous stunt, it had worked, and she still giggled a little when she saw a sleeping bag because of Bo.

Bo even when they were out on patrol would always have a moment for a child that came close, there was always a look of fondness in her eyes when she saw them playing and running around. Always seeing her stop to see if there was anything she could do to help the people around them. To her it was a reminder that not all humans were bad, despite what sometimes happens, that they all could start out this way. It was in those moments that Lauren was reminded that Bo still had her that her humanity intact, despite the sometimes awful things they saw on those days.

She had seen a few of Bo and Tamsin during their Skype conversations. Tamsin not expressing much emotion but plain in her words and actions that she missed the other woman desperately. The look in Bo's eyes change when they talked to one of absolute fondness when she saw the other woman. It had always caused her heart to ache a little more ache time she saw them together, she would often also feel an irrational anger that she had not realized until much later was jealousy.

The way she interacted with the men in their unit, standing up and calling them out on sexist behaviour, or defending someone who was weaker then them if they were getting bullied on base. Taking a moment to talk to someone who was newly arrived and still adjusting, making sure that they were okay.

But mostly she remembered the quiet moments when she and Bo would just sit there, not always saying anything, just enjoying each other's company. She remembered on conversation they had in particular about what they wanted out of the future. Lauren couldn't remember how the conversation had started, but she knew someone had said something to Bo that day, a scathing remark about what she had never found out.

She had found Bo outside staring off at the night sky, a sullen look on her face.

"Bo? Are you okay?"

"Before I joined the army I had my life all planned out I wanted to graduate from university and try to change the world, to protect the people I love. So I joined, hoping to help protect, to help to change the world."

"Bo what?"

"Someone just reminded me of the past today, of something I never wanted to think about, they made me question what I was doing here, why I was here." Lauren gently reached her hand out to rest on Bo's shoulder.

"You're here because you want to help, you want to protect. You love your country and you want to help protect it and you want to help other people in the world. You're here because you're brave and stubborn, but you desire to help people."

Lauren could here Bo sigh before turning around, tucking her knees a little closer to her chest. "I want a family you know? I want to cliché, the white picket fence, and the house, all of it. I want to help people but not like this, I don't want my kids to worry if their mother is going to come home again, I don't want to miss out on their lives because I'm deployed."

Lauren looked down at Bo for a moment, her head was turned away, she looked incredibly vulnerable. Without thinking Lauren had knelt down in front of her, taking one hand in her own.

"You'll be fine Bo, you're an amazing person and you're going to be an amazing mother. You have an amazing partner waiting for you to come back, you'll figure something out you always do." Saying those words hurt a little, but they were true, Bo did have someone waiting for her when she got back.

She could see Bo lifting her head slightly a weak smile on her face. But the light in her eyes had returned a little bit, she didn't look so defeated. Lauren stood up and put her hand out in front of Bo, she felt Bo take her hand and Lauren pulled her up. That moment she knew something had changed, something fundamental within her had changed, nothing would ever be the same again.

She could never pinpoint the moment she fell in love with Bo, but if she'd had to guess, it would be that moment and yes she knew for sure what she was feeling was love. She would prefer not to remember the day she had realized that she was in love with the other woman and what that meant for them. The fondness she had for the woman in her arms was genuine, she felt differently about her then she had about other people.

She had fallen in love for the first time in her life and the last. It was both the most exhilarating feeling in the world and the most crushing feeling at the same time. To see Bo with another hurt her both physically and mentally, but she couldn't walk away, not yet at least.

Lauren sighed and pulled Bo a little closer to her. She could feel an arm coming around her waist and tightening its grip, as if to hold her in place. Lauren could hear Bo whisper her name again.

Lauren murmured out loud "I'm right here Bo." before she bent her head slightly to press a kiss to her forehead. Lauren sighed again before letting her head fall back onto the pillow and brought the other hand up to rest on her forehead. What was she going to do about this situation?

If she kept going down the path she was now she would more then likely self-destruct, but she couldn't walk away.. She would also drive herself insane, the mating bond was so often more trouble then it was worth, but the price of severing it was too high, especially if there was no way to mitigate the risk at all. If she walked away Bo's life would be in danger and there would be little protection from the creatures that were after them, if she severed the mating bond there was no way of knowing what would happen to Bo, especially with the Hunter's Moon. There were still creatures after them, Lauren didn't know how much longer it would be safe fore them to stay in one place.

Lauren winced at the thought, it seemed out of character for the Una Mens to send creatures after them rather then attempting to deal with it themselves. It was strange, but not out of the question for them to be the ones responsible, if anything it may have been them taking up the upkeep of the curse, the creatures after them may be from a separate entity all together.

Lauren turned her head into the pillow behind it. If she kept thinking at the rate she was going she would drive herself insane, actually her own Artemis might drive her insane before that. It was purring contently right now, almost as if it were resting, but that was more then likely because Bo was with her in her arms.

Her baser self was possessive and violently protective, those traits would more then likely gradually start to bleed into her when she was in control, it would become a habit, instinctual. There was no way of telling how much longer she would be able to tolerate Bo and Tamsin, but at the same time she knew both Bo and herself would never forgive her if she was the reason she broke.

That brought her back to her original dilemma, was it time to fight? Or was it time to flee and save them all the trouble? A sleepy grumble broke her train of thought, she turned her head back to see that Bo had shifted against her a little, her head resting more firmly on her chest, the top of her head brushing against her chin, a leg thrown over her own. It felt right like this, it felt normal, as if this is what happened on a regular basis, not the nightmares of sleepless night, but them sleeping together.

Lauren sighed and tilted her head forward a little, brushing her nose against Bo's hair, before leaning back against the pillow and closing her eyes. She allowed herself to smile slightly, and indulge in the feeling of having Bo in her arms, of allowing herself to hold the other woman close.

Lauren could feel herself drifting off slowly, Bo was calm for the moment and she was still, her breathing was slow and even, her chest rising against her own. She could feel a smile tugging at her lips, hopefully this time she would be able to stay asleep and not be awoken by a restless Bo.

* * *

Bo stared at the old women in front of her; they appeared to be staring back at her. Bo wasn't sure what to think, was this another dream like the first one she'd had with Lauren? Where it had been little more then a nice dream? Or was this like the second one, a transport to another dimension. The third one, interestingly that had most likely taken place in her mind. If what the Hunter's Moon said was true and it resided in her mind then that starry but dark place was most likely some kind of mindscape. The implications of that were fascinating.

Bo shook her head. She looked at the women in front of her, each was dressed very similarly to the last, all wearing the same tunic, the one that appeared to be white, similar to her own, but spoke of so much more. They each wore old-cloaks fastened with a single closure at the neck, all made of the same blackness that had been chasing her. Their faces however, Bo couldn't look at them, it hurt her eyes.

"Look who appeared." An old voice croaked out.

"The wielder of the Hunter's Moon has finally come." How could they possibly have known that? Bo shook her head, she was standing in front of the Fates, of course they would have known, they most likely knew her entire life and how it would play out.

"Our accident has finally arrived." Accident? How could there be an accident, were they not the ones who wove the fates of everyone who has ever come and who has ever will come together?

"Accident? How could you possibly have made a mistake?" Bo sighed. What had the stupid thing in her said? 'Your thread got tangled with one it wasn't supposed to' Tamsin more then likely, or Lauren. It said she had three choices, what? Lauren was an obvious strand, the person she was mated to, Bo's heart ached at the mention of her name. It was strange to have feelings that didn't exist yet, but simultaneously existed here, what was this place? Tamsin was more then likely another path, whether that be merely friendship in the future or as romantic partners, it would be hard to know. Tamsin was more then likely what would be considered a 'normal life'. The final third choice, a completely unknown option that could mean virtually anything: some unknown player far in the future? Perpetual loneliness?

Or she could refuse any of these and rebel against her destiny. She could try and choose her own path in life, would that be a path that was any different from the others though? That may be what the third path was.

"This journey will be most interesting, but only the first of many." The same voice that spoke the first time, you shall be dubbed high pitch and squeaky. Bo smirked a little at her own thoughts, although she dare not say them out loud. It was impossible to know what powers the woman in front of her might yield, how far back and how far forward they could see, or if they could see all.

"You're time of choice has not yet arrived." The second voice spoke again. It was almost as if the fates could read her mind, it was an interesting and simultaneously frightening thought.

"If it's not time for me to make a decision yet then why am I here?" Bo found herself yelling at the Fates. Getting to this room could have been considered a form of mental torture, constantly seeing one of the people she loved out of the corner of her eye only to have them disappear as they approached. It reminded her of nightmares she would often have a long time ago.

It reminded her of the situation with her mother, her constant trips back and forth between sanity and insanity. Wondering if her mother would remember her this time, if she would be okay this time, if she would still be her baby girl or if she would be the imposture who stole her child. If her mother would get violent and force her to run off to her grandfather to hide, or if she would be okay and the loving mother she normally was. If she would run off with whatever conquest she had found that week or if she would stay behind.

Bo shook her head, there was no need to relive the past, the people she was with now would not abandon her, it was not the same now. Those nightmares she had would not come back, she had people this time, she had Dyson and Hale, two of her best friends in the world. She had Tamsin, someone she loved deeply and desperately, her best friend in the world and her girlfriend, she had not abandoned her when things got tough, when she was trying to put herself back together, either time. More recently there were two other additions to the list, Kenzi, the person she had meet only days ago but felt like she'd known her entire life.

Lauren, her closest friend, after Tamsin the person she trusted most in the world. The things they had gone through together, both the laughter and the loss. For better or for worse the ties of shared experiences and fellowship, by the ties of friendship, tied them together, and apparently if what she was feeling right now would be any indication, the ties of romantic love would also eventually intertwine them. Was what she was feeling right now an absolute certainty or simply one of the possible ways her future could play out?

"To show you. Time both ceases to exist here and exists all at once. Everything you are, everything you were, everything you will become comes into being within the space. We spun your thread into the tapestry, another story of an Artemis bond, another tragedy in waiting."

"But then something happened."

"Your thread tangled with another and split. We know why and yet it makes little sense." Right, the Fates were all seeing, all knowing. But weren't they the ones who created people's destinies? Were they no the ones who shaped a person's life? Giving them both good moments and bad ones. This was odd.

"I though you were all seeing, all knowing. I thought you created all paths in life, set the destiny of people in stone, unchanging, unyielding. I've been told over and over that I have choice, which is rare. I shouldn't even be able to be here, I shouldn't be able to see this world. I am a mere mortal, you are merciless and unyielding immortal beings who can see all and can now all. So how could I be an accident?"

There was silence for a moment before laughter erupted. Bo shuddered, it sounded inhuman, unyielding, there was not mirth, no happiness in the voices, no sadness, no hurt. Yet it also did not sound cold or cruel, it did not sound malicious.

They were not the Hunter's Moon whom seemed to take some degree of joy in her suffering, some degree of amusement in watching the human who loves another and the Artemis, _who is stuck pinning after her._ Bo could feel her heart clench in sadness, it did not feel like the idea of making Lauren suffer, she didn't like the idea of making Lauren suffer.

She felt an urge to find Lauren, to reassure her that she was the only one she wanted, that Bo loved her. But right now it would be a lie, it would not always be a lie perhaps, but for now it was, out of this world her feelings could at best be considered a fleeting crush right now. More then they were 48-hours ago, but still nothing that justified leaving her current relationship.

Bo sighed and looked up at the old women in front of her, well look as much as she could, it was literally impossible for her to look at their faces. She was not sure what to make of her current situation, she was not sure whether to call Lauren an obstacle between her and Tamsin that only needed to be overcome, or to call Tamsin and her's relationship impossible in the face of Lauren and her.

She could feel eyes looking at her scrutinizing, judging. The eyes of the Fates, the eye of fate was literally staring at her, and it did not appear to be in a good way or in a bad way, simply observing, as if it were a third party. Bo sighed before speaking again. "If you have something to show me just do it already."

"Not show." One voice piped in.

"Tell." Another said.

"The future and the way things play out goes far beyond you and your decision." Bo sighed, what was with the gods and contradicting themselves. First they said they had something to show her, now they tell her they have something she needs to hear.

"Just get it over with, already. Show me, tell me, do whatever you need to do, but I need to get out of here. I have people who are more then likely worried about me. This is the third time today I've gotten pulled into some kind of dream or alternate reality, and to be frank I'm getting sick of it." She didn't know where the courage to give voice to her thoughts had come from, but from wherever it was it was greatly appreciated, Wait, ah… she knew, she still felt as if someone else was with her, the warmth that surrounded her was still there, as if shielding her in some way.

She wasn't sure who or what it was providing the warmth, but she knew she appreciated it. Bo waited for the Fates to start talking, they would more then likely ignore what she had just said, they had already ignored everything she had said so far, content to talk in their own riddles. Although one of the three seemed to speak more clearly then the other two, actually attempt to offer some explanations.

"The paths that seem to be obvious are not as they appear, choice is never as simple as we would like." Of course it never was, you almost never let anyone make any real choices

"There will be benefits and consequences regardless of which path you indulge." That much was a true. No matter which way she choose, or if she choose to rebel, there would be consequences, potentially severe ones for those around her. Bo sighed, Tamsin would be getting the brunt of whatever it was happened, just as she would.

"Hearts will break and mend, what you think are options are not necessarily how things will play out. Fractures are found in the most unexpected places." What did that mean? Who's heart would break and who else's would mend? And anyways, thank-you captain obvious, no matter how the final result plays out Bo knew she would more then likely end up hurting someone, if not multiple people, potentially including herself.

"You could suffer and break, there is no guarantees of happiness. Tragedy abounds in your life, as it abounds in the world, there will be one blessed moment of happiness coming, enjoy it for as long as it will last." So she would have a tragic life, blessed with only one moment of happiness, or was that one moment of happiness that they knew would be in her future?

Was her choice as much of a mystery to them as it was to her? Would she know that she had made a choice in the future or was the branching further down then she thought? Not a choice between Tamsin and Lauren but another choice, a different one? That would mean that she was going to break someone's heart, her own or Tamsin's. The thought of breaking Tamsin's heart made her own ache, despite what she was feeling for Lauren right now Tamsin was still her girlfriend, still the person she had spent the past two years with.

Bo sighed, the feelings she had for two different people were in essence raging inside of her, but she knew this would not be the case when she got back. Right now she was feeling something for Lauren that simply did not exist yet, or more accurately still in the infancy of its existence. It was not something that she could say she could break off her relationship with Tamsin and not regret it in the end. She could simply not say if she and Lauren would be compatible on that level, it was too early to now.

They hadn't been in contact in nearly two years, they could barely be considered friends anymore, although she was quickly finding herself falling back into the easy pattern of friendship that they had developed.

The things after her, were they part of the curse on their bond? More then likely. Bo sighed a little, was severing the bond an option? One that could be done without hurting herself or Lauren? Give them both a chance to see if this relationship would work without it, to see if they were honestly going to love each other or if it was simply something else that was induced by the bond. " Could the Fates read her mind? Bo cringed, that was creepy

"Careful with your trains of thought human. One of them is dangerous, the others are not." The Fates could read her mind Bo shuddered a little. It should not surprise her, but still, she felt a little violated, to have someone reading her mind? It felt violating, although there appeared to be simply something that they could do, rather then something that they did out of any malicious intent. Bo sighed, there was little point in attempting to contemplate the minds of the equivalent of divine beings.

"We shall send you back in a moment, but a parting word. You are not unique, but you are like someone who has not been seen in thousands of years." Bo cocked her head to the side, what did that mean?

She felt herself getting sleepy against her will, Bo could feel herself about to collapse forward, but before she could reach the ground she blacked out completely.

Bo could feel herself starting to wake up, but she didn't want to get up yet. She felt warm and comfortable; safe… she was in Lauren's arms again wasn't she, or was this yet another dream?

Bo sighed and blinked open her eyes, slowly lifting her head from where it was resting against Lauren's chest. Bo felt herself blushing slightly, that was a highly inappropriate position for her to be in. Bo shifted her head slightly so that she was looking up at Lauren's face. She could see that her eyes were closed, her mouth open slightly, but an overall serene look on her face. She looked beautiful in the pre-dawn light that was just starting to drift through the open window, it highlighting and shadowing her face in just the right way, Lauren looked beautiful.

Bo sighed and tried to get up, only to realize that Lauren had an iron grip on her waist. Bo sighed and let her head rest back against Lauren's chest, Bo closed her eyes and allowed herself to indulge in the feelings that came from being held by Lauren. Bo closed her eyes and just allowed herself to listen to her heartbeat for a few minutes, reminding herself that Lauren was alive, that she was right here with her.

The visit to the Fates must have caused her a few more problems then she like to remember. What had they meant by she was not unique? Well the Hunter's Moon did say that it had not manifested in thousands of years, perhaps it was that she was carrying the thing inside of her.

Bo sighed, the thought of the Hunter's Moon reminded her that she needed to talk to Lauren about everything that was going on. She needed to explain her actions from the night before, she needed to ask Lauren if she was okay, both mentally and physically. Wait… Bo shifted on her slightly; she could feel covers around them. The window, her stupid sleepy brain. They were indoors, Bo opened her eyes again to look around the room, it didn't look anything like her and Tamsin's room. Shit Tamsin, if she was here with Lauren in what was presumably her apartment then what had happened to her and Dyson?

How had she gotten here? The last thing she remembers was calming Lauren down and then she had been overcome by a wave of pain and dizziness. Someone must have carried her here, more then likely Lauren; she would be the only one capable of lifting her for an extended period of time.

Shit, Tamsin had seen everything and knowing her girlfriend she would not write it off as a dream. Bo sighed and mentally added Tamsin to her list of people that I need to talk with at an increasing level of urgency. Tamsin first, especially if she had heard anything that she had said to Lauren, or how much would she have figured out? Tamsin was perceptive, give her a little time and she could figure out almost anything. She more then likely knew about Lauren's feelings for her, ugh, another thing she needed to think about. How to deal with the romantic nature of Lauren's feelings for her and what to do about their friendship. That was also something she would need to talk with Tamsin about, to see how comfortable the blonde was with them continuing to see each other. She knew Tamsin's jealous streak, although the Artemis within Lauren could certainly give her a run for her money.

Bo could feel Lauren shifting slightly, she quickly closed her eyes and evened out her breathing again. She wanted to put off the inevitable awkward awakening as long as possible.

"Bo?" She could feel Lauren shifting slightly, adjusting both of their positions so that her head rested over Lauren's heart. "It's okay baby. Whatever it is, you'll be okay. I'm right here." Baby huh?

The term of endearment didn't feel wrong; it was fairly standard one as far as terms of endearment go. Tamsin didn't use it often, preferring to use the term babe or her name, but she did use it sometimes, in particular if she'd had a rough day or if she had the occasional nightmare and was with Bo when she woke up after her own. Lauren must truly think she is still asleep if she was using it instead of her name.

Wait why was Lauren trying to comfort her. Actually why was she laying on top of Lauren to begin with? She sometimes woke up like this with Tamsin but it was uncommon, they usually drifted apart during the night, or Bo would wake up being spooned by Tamsin. Actually this was all so strange, had she been transported to another alternate reality? And how was Lauren's voice not triggering her? But then again it only seemed to do it some of the time, maybe... oh who knows. She was mystically bonded to the woman for heaven's, Olympuses? sake, there were to many possibilities, or maybe she had actually taken her medication last night and forgotten? It was possible, she was in and out for a while at the hospital. Argh. To many things to sort through and now she has to add Lauren's voice to the list of the many, many things going on in her life.

No, this felt too real to be another dream world, Bo attempted to act like she was rolling away in her sleep, only for her to be held in place. "Shhh Bo. It's okay." Lauren's voice sounded tired, like she had been up on and off all night. Bo sighed before giving in, it was still early and she needed to get some more sleep, her entire body was aching still, although the pain was not nearly as bad as yesterday. Maybe if she slept some more Lauren would to.

Bo sighed a little and burrowed further into Lauren, she could feel a hand come up to run through her hair. She really should mind this, but at the moment she couldn't bring herself to, the moment was quiet. In many ways it felt natural to be like this, to be held by Lauren, it also felt natural to hold her in return.

Shit. Maybe the feelings she had been experiencing with the Fates weren't so far off after all, or had she always been in love with Lauren? Fuck, she was screwed, really and truly screwed.


	17. Chapter XVI: A Growing Feeling

**A/N: Sorry for the not updating this in so long. I kind of lost the motivation to write for a little while, and then I had to write another fic of mine, Talks New and Long Overdue before I could update my other ongoing fics. This will be moving to a more regular update schedule of once every two weeks on Tuesday, or at least as close to that day as I can get. **

**Anyways, thank-you to everyone who has favourited and followed this, as well as a special thank-you to everyone who has left reviews. **

* * *

Lauren groaned as she attempted to roll away from whatever was shining so brightly in her eyes, only to find that she couldn't due to a heavy weight holding her in place. She blinked open her eyes squinting at the bright light filtering in through her window, the sun.

Lauren sat up slightly and glanced down at her chest where the weight seemed to be centred. She could feel a fond smile slipping onto her face as she caught sight of Bo's brown hair and a portion of her face. So they hadn't moved from the position they had fallen back asleep in after the last time? Lauren felt the fond smile widen slightly at the realization. Gently Lauren brought her hand up to start to run her fingers through the locks slowly. She heard Bo grumble something before the arm that was wrapped around her waist tightened slightly, not enough to keep her in place if she wanted to break free, but enough to apply a reassuring pressure.

So this was what is what to awaken with Bo in her arms? If it was then she would give anything to repeat it. Lauren sighed contently before she lay back down, allowing the arm she had wrapped around Bo's waist to tighten. She felt calm, complete. Sensations that were foreign to her in so many ways. For once she didn't feel restless, she didn't feel the call to hunt as she did so often after she feed, her Artemis was purring contently, and she felt well rested, the later being something she had not felt in a long time.

Lauren sighed and angled her head so that she could press a kiss to the crown of Bo's. She heard a quiet sigh as Bo nuzzled her chest in return, a subconscious action more then likely, but still it was an appreciated one. Lauren ran her fingers through Bo's hair again, gently stopping at the scalp to massage it.

She allowed herself a moment to drift slightly, to entertain the fantasy that this was how it had been for the last two years, rather then the reality of the nightmares, the hollow ache that had been her only constant in life, and the depression she had felt until she had found Kenzi. Lauren sighed and turned her head away to bury it in the pillow supporting it.

Soon she would have to get up and face the cruel reality that this world had instead forced upon her. A mate in love with another who only had the potential to be developing feelings for her, in turn her mate's girlfriend who neither despised her nor liked her. Lauren groaned slightly and shook her head. Those thought processes could be what end up destroying her if she allowed them to continue.

Lauren sighed and moved her head again, tilting it so that she could nuzzle Bo's hair with her nose, inhaling her scent and filling it away for future reference. Who knew the next time she would get to experience moment like this? This perfect moment caught in the stillness of the world, neither of them moving, Bo asleep in her arms, the one place she knew that she could be keep her safe.

Lauren sighed and allowed herself to nuzzle Bo again pressing a kiss to the crown of her head. She would have to get up soon, Lauren glanced at the window again, if the sun was up and shinning it had to be after seven. She would be due in the lab in a few hours… but she could not go in, not today, not after everything that had happened.

Had it really only been 48 hours? It felt so much longer. Lauren shook her head lightly and focused on Bo. Her breathing was deep and even, her body was relaxed overall, although certain muscle groups in her back and legs appeared to be tense. She heard Bo grumble again before cuddling closer to her, Bo's head shifting slightly so that it was more directly over her heartbeat.

Lauren smiled lightly and tilted her head to press a kiss to Bo's forehead. "Yeah baby, I'm right here." She murmured softly before allowing her head to tilt to rest her cheek against the top of Bo's head. Her neck was beginning to cramp a little, but she wanted to hold this position for a few more moments, allow herself to simply enjoy the feeling because soon she would have to give it up.

Lauren sighed before smiling again slightly as a thought entered her head, the only way this could be better would be if she could feel Bo's skin against hers. Lauren shook her head lightly before laughing softly, of course. She could feel a general grumble of agreement from her Artemis whom seemed to have desires behind simple skin-to-skin contact.

Lauren sighed, her Artemis, it would soon become a problem. The creature was stirring slightly if she even so much as thought of Tamsin and Bo… she was cut off by a growl inside of her. The thought "Mine" popping into her head. Lauren shook her head before sighing again, her inner creature was primal and cared little about what happened to others so long as its mate was safe.

Lauren's thoughts were interrupted by a gentle knock on her door, followed by a soft call of "It's only me." Kenzi. Lauren briefly weighed the pros and cons of letting the young woman into her room before she gently called out.

"Come in Kenz, but make sure you only open the door as little as you need to." She called out softly, knowing that the Kitsune's heightened hearing would pick-up on it. The last thing she needed was Tamsin seeing that she was holding her girlfriend, she had been clear last night that she was sympathetic to Lauren's situation, but she was still Bo's girlfriend, and she was quick to remind her of that.

Lauren growled slightly at the thought of someone else's hands on Bo. "Cool it with the glowy eyes would you Hotpants?"

Lauren glanced up at Kenzi, blinking slightly before she took a deep breath. "My eyes were glowing again?" She saw Kenzi nod as she crossed the room coming to sit down next to her feet on the bed. Lauren took a moment to drag the pillow from the other side of the bed over in order to prop herself up on them. She took a moment to ensure that she would be propped at an angle that wouldn't hurt Bo's neck or back before she dragged herself backward slightly gently holding Bo in place so that her head remained resting against her chest.

"What the hell happened last night Lauren? I woke up to go and get a midnight snack and I find piles of dust in the living room and you gone, door thrown wide open." Lauren shivered slightly before a low growl slipped out as the memories of last night came back.

She shifted her gaze to Kenzi, looking the Kitsune directly in the eye. "Last night we were invaded my creatures who were after me and Bo. They want to punish me because I fell in love with a human, and they want to kill her because it is how the curse is enacted. I took care of them" Lauren paused gesturing to the bow and quiver of arrows resting against the wall. "Then I felt this tugging in the pit of my stomach, I've felt it once before, something I didn't remember until tonight. It's a link of sorts to Bo, something that tells me she's in danger. So I took off running, honestly the last thought in my mind was closing the apartment door."

Lauren paused again before sighing, she glanced up at her roommate who was nodding along a oddly bemused expression on her face. "I activated my powers and took off running, but something was different Kenzi." Lauren said as she glanced down at Bo, starting to play with her hair again. "I lost control, well no that's not right… I let my Artemis take control. But something happened, as I was slipping away I noticed something, I was running faster then I ever had before, and my sense of smell, it heightened to."

She paused for a moment glancing over to Kenzi again, there was a frown on her face, a second later she glanced up at her again. "So your more powerful then we thought you were, or could it just be something to do with the bond?"

Lauren tilted her her head slightly to show that she had no idea. She heard an angry grumble from her chest, Lauren sighed before glancing down at Bo again; she noticed that a small frown had slipped onto her sleeping face. Lauren gently brought the hand playing with her hair up to massage her scalp; a few seconds later she heard a content sigh and felt the arm around her tighten. Lauren glanced up at Kenzi again, "I honestly don't know, at first I thought it might have just been because I was never really trained properly, but now" Lauren sighed. "I have no idea what to think anymore. Everything's happening so fast, I've barely had time to process the fact that Bo's alive. Let alone that she knows she my mate, or the fact that the bond is fully active."

She could see Kenzi's eyes go wide with shock. "She knows she's your mate? How?" Lauren did her best to shrug with another person in her arms.

"I don't know how she knows, I just know that at some point she figured it out because that's what brought me back." Lauren tilted her head slightly and leaned down to peck her on the forehead before she continue mururing. "She told me that she knew she was my mate, and that while she didn't have any feelings for me right now, that it was a possibility, that she could fall for me, that we may have a future together."

Lauren took a breath and fought back the tears and the heartbreak that came with the memory as she pressed the side of her face against Bo's forehead. "She said that if she was going to fall for me it would be the funny, brainy, brave me, not my baser self." Lauren sighed and chocked back the rising sob. "She tried everything else first, telling me I was her best friend, that I had control, but it wasn't working. That did, she pressed a kiss to my cheek and told me to never do it again."

Lauren took another breath before she finished. "But right after she fell on her knees and embraced Tamsin. Gods I felt like my heart was being ripped out right then and there. I understand why she did it, but I wish there had been some other way."

She lifted her head and glanced over at Kenzi who was shaking her head a sad smile slipping onto her face. "What I'm going to tell you remains between us okay Hotpants?"

Lauren nodded slightly and lifted her head to stare Kenzi directly in the eye. She heard Kenzi sigh before she started to talk. "Bo-Bo there is special in a different way. She's sort of like how you described her but at the same time not really. You know how you always haboured the idea that Bo was a succubus?"

Lauren nodded before tilting her head to the side. "What do my hypotheses on what kind of Fae Bo could be have to do with anything?"

She heard Kenzi sigh. "The morning that I woke up at her place I asked her about you directly, she said that she was never attracted to you sexually, that confused me because I know how your mating bond manifested, the first sign is almost always physical or sexual attraction. She literally told me that she felt neither, that she really normally really can't really feel either."

Lauren blinked in confusion looking down at Bo. How was that possible? Bo was one of the most… liberated people that she knew. She heard Kenzi sigh again. "I don't remember the word for it but she said that she could literally only feel sexual attraction _after_ a strong bond formed, and even then it doesn't appear to be a guarantee. Look at her and Blondie. They're in a relationship, a partnership if you want to describe it that way, but it's not a sexual one. And from what you told me and what she told me, she's known Blondie for a long time."

Lauren blinked and sighed. That would explain a few things. That would explain how Bo was able to resist the bond's pull. Her heart already belonged to another and the first stage manifestation would have been a pull of friendship, the intense desire to get to know and to understand, rather then intense desire and sexual attraction. Combined with her choice, and the fact that her thread was not at the point where it split yet. Lauren groaned and allowed her head to fall back and rest against the pillows propping her up.

"At least that explains a few things. But I don't really understand what this means Kenz… What it means for her and what it means for us." Lauren sighed and lifted her head.

She saw Kenzi shrug. "I don't really understand it myself Hotpants, all I know is what she told me and what I know from you. The best person to ask would be her." Kenzi said gesturing to Bo who only seemed to snuggle closer to her, that caused Lauren to smile slightly.

"And speaking of Bo-Bo, how the hell did you two end up looking like a sandwich? I somehow have the feeling that Blondie wouldn't give her consent to this." Lauren sighed before she let out a little chuckle.

"After Bo brought me back to myself she passed out again, most likely from pain due to… ah there's a creature that's inside of Bo, it's called the Hunter's Moon. When we went to the restaurant to meet up there was a little gun fight, that's why I ended up in the hospital with a bullet wound in my leg."

Lauren paused for a moment, she felt Kenzi reach over and squeeze her leg. Lauren yelped slightly before shooting the Kitsune a glare. "Watch it." All she could do was hear Kenzi giggle slightly. Lauren rolled her eyes at her roommate's antics. At least getting her injured leg squeezed was better then the paint-balloon and water bucket incident.

"Anyways, I tried to keep us safe but as you know my species isn't exactly designed for hand-to-hand combat." Lauren could see Kenzi rolling her eyes before muttering something that sounded suspiciously like, "That's an understatement."

"So I got my but kicked, and just as I was about to get beaten up, and probably shot and killed. I hear a voice growl 'You don't touch my mate' and lifting the man off of me, and up by his neck. Bo attacked them both and then passed out in my lap." Lauren sighed. "My best guess it that the great demand placed on her muscles by the actions of the Hunter's Moon may have aggravated some of her old injuries, causing the stiffness and pain she was experiencing."

Lauren lifted her head to look directly into Kenzi's eyes. "She was in so much pain the few times I did see her that she was either leaning on Tamsin or I, she could barely stand, let alone walk. I can't even begin to imagine what kind of damage the shrapnel would have done to her muscles to cause such extensive pain on use nearly two years later."

She heard Kenzi sigh before gesturing at her. "Ah right… sorry. Getting to the point. By the time we got back here at around 3:30, you remember that much." She saw Kenzi nod. "I had Tamsin and Dyson camp out in the living room, Tamsin checking on Dyson every hour or so, and I came inhere to watch Bo. Tamsin told me to get her if Bo was having a nightmare, but she kept calling out my name, whimpering in between."

Lauren sighed before she started to massage Bo's scalp again. "So I grabbed her hand, but it wasn't enough…"

Kenzi finished her sentence for her. "So you got into bed with her instead." Lauren nodded before sighing.

"It was the only thing that would calm her down for an extended period of time. I fell asleep for a little while but she kept waking up and calling out for me. I couldn't just let her suffer Kenzi… and being in my arms seemed to calm her down, and when I let her rest against my chest she finally relaxed enough for us both to get some sleep."

Lauren brought the hand massaging Bo's scalp down to trace patters on her back "I think she may have woken up at one point, but she wasn't coherent enough to do much, she just tried to roll away, but I think it was a sort of waking dream thing so I just held her close and soothed her back to sleep."

Lauren sighed. "And after that she hasn't really tried to move since, she's actually been sleeping pretty well, and letting me finally get some unbroken sleep to." Lauren shifted her gaze to meet Kenzi's. "It feels good Kenz to be able to hold her like this, it feels right. It feels so right… I can't even begin to describe it."

She heard Kenzi chuckle lightly before smiling. "Of course it's going to feel right Hotpants, you and her were in some ways literally made for each other." She felt Kenzi lightly pat her leg before she spoke again, her tone whistful. "You two look right in a few I don't think I can completely describe…"

Lauren felt Bo groan and begin to shift against her for a few seconds before a scream escaped her.

Lauren looked over at Kenzi feeling helpless… what was going on this time. "Hotpants let her go right now." Her tone turning serious. "I've seen this before, she's starting to have a nightmare. Shit… when Tamsin went through this she didn't touch her, just talked to her, kneeling against the side of the bed."

Lauren nodded remembering what Tamsin had said. "Don't touch her. Tamsin told me that. Don't talk…" Lauren shut her mouth. Her voice was one of Bo's triggers, although before now she hadn't… Lauren sighed and shook her head gently lifting Bo up before she slid out from underneath her.

"Lauren what? Lauren it would be better if you talked to her. It usually helps with you, when I talk, it uumm… I don't really know how to describe it, but when you wake up it usually help to talk."

Lauren gestured to the door frantically. She had no idea what to do, this wasn't like earlier when Bo had been calling out for her. This was most likely what Tamsin had told her about… the nightmares. Just wait it out she had said… she couldn't wait it out… she had not idea what to do.

"Tamsin? Do you want me to get Tamsin?" Lauren nodded frantically, she felt helpless. She saw Kenzi nod quickly before she spoke for a moment. "Lauren you need to calm down, if she wakes up with the nervous energy pouring off of you in the room, it could just make things worse."

Lauren nodded, but it didn't help. All she could feel was panic. She could feel Bo's distress through the bond, the tugging sensation strong within her. But there was nothing that she could do. She knew that attempting to hold Bo down would most likely only make things worse. She could hear the door to her room opening followed by a few frantic footfalls.

Lauren glanced up and saw Tamsin rushing into the room. Seemingly ignoring her, she saw Tamsin rush to kneel next to the bed. The detective looked disheveled, her hair and clothing wrinkled. She saw Tamsin glance over at her before an apologetic look crossed her face, before it hardened again.

"Shit, so they didn't give her that medication after all. Go… if she sees you it could trigger something that she doesn't need to be dealing with." She saw Tamsin's eyes soften. "I'm sorry, but right now, it would be better if you let me deal with her. Dyson's awake and complaining of a headache if you need something to do." She saw Tamsin flash her a small smile before reaching out to touch her arm. "I've done this a thousand times before, it'll be okay. Despite how it looks right now, she'll be okay in a little while."

Lauren sighed and nodded, standing up to leave the room, shutting the door gently behind her before she leaned against it to support herself. Closing her eyes she took a deep breath trying to calm herself down.

Lauren could feel her heart clenching, as the tugging within her got stronger. She knew that if she opened her eyes they would be glowing silver. How would she, how could she deal with this? Lauren sighed and shook her head, taking a deep breath.

Up until a few minutes ago everything had been fine, everything had been calm. But now it wasn't. Now her Artemis was growling in her mind, protect being her dominant thought process. But she couldn't do either, because there was nothing to protect Bo from.

Lauren sighed. She had thought the tugging was only when Bo was in danger, but apparently it would also be felt if she was in any kind of emotional or physical distress. Lauren could feel a hand reaching out to touch her shoulder. Lauren felt a growl escaping. She opened her eyes and saw Kenzi's own blue eyes staring back at her, pupils slit.

Lauren sighed and nodded allowing Kenzi to reach out and drag her into her own room. At this point, it would be the only way she wouldn't pose a threat to anyone else in the apartment. The last thing she needed was a repeat of last night, whatever she had nearly done.

* * *

Bo groaned and burrowed further into the chest in front of her. Something had changed from the last time she had woken up, she felt groggy an exhausted, and the body that she was pressed against was different.

The feeling of grogginess and exhaustion could easily be explained by nightmares. So she had not taken her pill last night? Bo sighed and cuddled closer to the person holding her. She inhaled slightly recognizing the scent quickly. It was Tamsin who was holding her this time. What was it? Cuddle Bo day? This time? Uhnn where did that thought come from. Something was missing from her memory.

Her sleep addled brain was still slowly awakening. She knew that she was missing something but the last thing she remembered was the hospital.

Bo sighed before she tried to pull back slightly only for the hand resting in her hair to gently guide her head back to where it had been a moment before. "Sleep babe. You had another nightmare."

"Tamsin?" Bo tried, her voice still sounded hoarse.

"Yeah babe. It's me." She felt lips press against her forehead a moment later.

Bo grumbled a little before she burrowed into Tamsin more. She felt Tamsin shifting onto her back and tugging her with her. Bo sighed and allowed herself to be rolled. A few moments later she heard a familiar beat under her ear.

"Mhmm." Bo let out the noise at the familiar soothing beat of her girlfriend's heart began to play underneath her ear.

"Yeah babe, that's my heartbeat. I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere." Bo sighed and blinked open her eyes. Instead of being greeted with the familiar walls of their bedroom she was greeted with the unfamiliar wall.

"Where?" Bo croaked out.

"Lauren's place, babe. She carried you here after you passed out again last night." Passed out again… what.

Her sleep addled brain finally started to remember what happened last night. The talk with the Hunter's Moon, waking up to find herself in Lauren's arms, but no… it wasn't Lauren it was the Artemis. Bringing her back… Tamsin… The Fates. The dream… waking up in Lauren's arms… falling back asleep.

Feelings that hadn't existed yet simultaneously existed. Oh Fuck. She was starting to fall for Lauren, at this point it was still a crush but… oh Fuck. What she had done last night. Shit. Argh.

Bo let out a groan. She felt the hand in her hair drop down to start rubbing her back for a few seconds before she felt someone tugging on her slightly. "Just rest on me for a little while… you know I don't mind. It's still early and we both need some more sleep. Come on baby. It's been a long two days for us. You need more sleep and so do I." Bo shifted until most of her upper torso was resting on Tamsin; she also draped on arm over her hips and gently slotted her leg in between Tamsin's.

A few seconds later she felt the fingers on her back return. "Yeah babe, just like that. Get some sleep."

Bo nodded slightly, the rhythmic beat under her ear lulling her to sleep again. Bo blinked slightly fighting sleep. "I'm sorry." She whispered.

She heard Tamsin sigh before she started to run fingers through her hair again. "We can talk about that later babe, right now you need some sleep and so do I."

"You know?" Bo croaked out.

"Yeah baby. I know pretty much everything. Lauren explained it to me what I couldn't guess. You're not one of them are you?"

Bo gently taped Tamsin on the chest before she whispered. "No."

She felt the fingers running through her hair move to massage her scalp lightly, blunt finger nails occasionally raking at it. "That's all I need for right now babe. The rest we can talk about later. I promise you I'm here and I'm not going anywhere." Bo felt tears start to well in her eyes.

How could she do this to both of them? How could she be stupid? Why? Why her of all people.

"Bo… please don't cry." Bo just felt the tears spill over at that. "Babe shh. Shit happens, and while I'm not happy about it, about any of this. It isn't your fault anymore then it is hers."

"I'm not there yet." Bo whispered.

"And I know that, but your closer then you'd like to admit. But you also love me. So it's hard. Because you don't want to hurt anyone, but someone going to get hurt either way baby. Whether it's me, it's her, or it's all of us."

"I'm sorry."

"S'not your fault, really. Destiny's weird sometimes, although finding out that destiny actually exists was one of the bigger surprises of last night. But destiny's not all that's weird, biology's every weirder. And you… well your just special in a way we never thought was possible."

Bo heard Tamsin sigh. "Look babe, let's just get a little rest before we try and talk anymore about this. Right now I'm going to say something and you can be mad at me all you want okay?"

Bo nodded against Tamsin's chest before curling into her a little more. "I want you, and I love you. Being with you is simultaneously the most exhilarating and the most frustrating thing in the world. You hurt me, a lot sometimes. Dealing with you and the shit your going through, it takes it's toll. I've thought about walking away more then once, but each time I even let myself fantasize about it I stop. Because I love you, and I've been there for everything that's happened in the last twelve years. I've been your support, no questions asked. "

She hard Tamsin sigh again before continuing. "Your not always the easiest person to deal with. To be frank drama and angst seem to follow you everywhere. The succubus year and the fallout from that. Your mother. The Dyson incident and the love triangle that we were caught up in. Hell even the demisexuaity discovery, although really I think that one was more of a relief for both of us then anything else. But really, I get help for that for my choices to stay, and we both see your psychiatrist when we need to."

"Point is babe. Being with you, it has never been easy, but I knew what I was signing up for when I started to actively pursue you. We'd been roommates for nearly a decade by that point and I'd already had to deal with quite a bit of your shit, including helping you pick-up the pieces more then once."

"You didn't sign up for a girlfriend who is mystically mated and bonded to someone else who is also in love with her." Bo pointed out.

"Yeah no. I didn't and you're right about that one. I didn't even know half of that mystical bullshit existed until last night. But you know I can hardly be mad at Lauren for being a victim of her own biology. I can, not like it, I can hate the situation, but I can't hate her specifically for it. For falling in love with you. Even I know a raw deal when I see one, and baby? She's got it rawer then most."

Bo nodded and curled into Tamsin a little more. "I sympathize with her, and I can't even imagine what she's going through physically and emotionally. But that doesn't mean that I like this situation or that I don't want you to choose me. I don't and I want you to." Bo nodded; she couldn't fault Tamsin for her outlook, for wanting to be the one she choose in the end… although the Fates had said something.

The paths were not what they appeared to be… hmm. "For now, all I can ask is that you… well…"

Bo sighed before she began to speak. "I'm not even sure what the choices I have look like. I'm not sure of much of anything right now. But one thing I know is that I love you, and that I don't want to give up what we've built together. You're my best friend next to Meddy and my partner on top of that, neither of those things have changed. You being aware of this, and Lauren being aware, and everything…"

"Is a tangled mess of an emotional cluster fuck. It's hard and it's confusing, to you, to her, to me." Tamsin finished for her. Bo nodded and curled against her.

"What I did last night was cruel, and I know that. It hurts to think about what I did to her, what I had to do to you, what I'm doing to both of you right now. I think… to some degree I can feel the amount of pain she's in. It's excruciating Tamsin. But at the same time, I can't risk my mental health on a could be… on a possibility, it's already fragile enough. My feelings right now are… I can't even begin to untangle them… I love her as my best friend but is there more there? I know there's something, but I don't know if it's a potential or if it's an actual."

She heard Tamsin sigh before letting out a little chuckle. "I asked her about severing the bond between you two, from the look on her face…." Bo nodded and curled up against Tamsin a little more.

"You curl against me anymore and I'll have a Bo ball on top of me instead of my girlfriend cuddling against me." Bo laughed a little at that.

"So what do you want to do?" Bo asked a few seconds later.

"I don't know babe. From the sounds of it, for now you want to stay together… but I don't know. I want to stay together if at all possible, I want to fight for you and for us, for the life we've built together, but that's not a decision I can make unilaterally, this is a partnership, something we have to discuss, it's not something one of us just decide to stay together while the other decides to break it off, because of us and our history, it's most likely gonna have to be a mutual decision, a point where it becomes not worth it anymore." Bo sighed and nodded against Tamsin, a small smile slipping onto her face.

"You're not being jealous or possessive like you usually are, I'm surprised." Bo heard and felt Tamsin laugh.

"I was last night, trust me, I was last night. But right now it's kinda hard to be jealous and possessive when the person you want is lying in your arms. Anyways succubabe, enough talk… sleep or at least try please. We got in at around 3:30, it only 8:00 now, and although you probably don't remember it, you were up with a nightmare for about half an hour."

Bo tensed slightly. "What about work?"

She felt Tamsin's chest heave a little before she let out a sigh. "That's not a thing you need to be worry about right now babe. But I called them, told them I needed to take some emergency leave. A few of the guys saw me at the restaurant with you yesterday, they know you're injured." Bo nodded before she closed her eyes again.

This was such a confusing situation. Her relationship with Tamsin, her desire to remain in that relationship. But at the same time she could also feel something for Lauren starting to grow, or perhaps starting to blossom again.

The problem was, they didn't know each other that well, she had no idea if they were compatible or not. Although based on the Artemis bond, and the whole destined mate thing… the answer to that one was most likely a resounding yes. But for that to be the foundation of their relationship? It probably wasn't enough.

There wasn't mutual want and mutual desire for her to fall back on. She didn't desire Lauren for anything beyond her company. It was a possibility in the future and that she couldn't deny that. It was always a possibility with her, and given who and what Lauren was and could be to her, it was most likely an assurance then a possibility if she choose to go down that path. But right now, she felt nothing like that. Or at least nothing beyond a vague aesthetic attraction. Yet.

Bo sighed and closed her eyes, allowing Tamsin's heartbeat to calm her. She need sleep, well at this point she needed more of it.

* * *

Bo blinked open her eyes. She was lying on a soft bed, the sheets cool against… her skin. Bo's eyes shot open, only for her eyes to be greeted with a head of familiar dirty blonde hair.

Lauren. And when the blonde shifted against her, she could feel Lauren's skin against her own. Warming her where the sheets could not. An unfamiliar rush ran through her. What... No it was familiar, just something she hadn't felt in a long time.

She and Lauren were naked, in bed together.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me…" Bo muttered.

She had been transported to another reality, again.


End file.
